Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 6, 1994 TAG: 9403030096
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Patricia Held
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Right now the skunk cabbage is at the height of its glory. Its blossom is one of the first of our wildflowers to appear and is a true harbinger of spring. On occasion I have found its buds as early as December. But usually skunk cabbage pushes up through the wet muck as soon as the ground starts to thaw. I have read that the plant puts out enough heat to thaw a small area around it and will even melt surrounding snow.
The inconspicuous flower appears in a leathery spathe that affords it protection from the March winds. The shell-shaped spathe, the size of two cupped hands, has a striped and mottled pattern of brown, purple, green and red. Inside is a mass of not very pretty lavender blossoms with straw yellow anthers.
A few weeks later the leaves appear beside the spathe in a tightly rolled cone of pale green. These soon unfurl into huge, dark-green cabbage-like leaves growing as high as two feet.
As their true leaves unfurl the skunk cabbage creates spring's first green patches in the wet woods and along the slow moving streams of our area.
The plant is probably best-known for its peculiar smell when the leaves are cut or crushed. Just cut one and take a sniff. It smells just like a skunk!
Perhaps not as well-known are its variety of uses as an herb and medicine and also as a source of food. The Indians dried and powdered the roots and used them as a styptic for minor cuts and scratches. As a medicinal herb it was said to cure bronchitis, coughs and asthma.
The early Swedish settlers in the Philadelphia area named the plant "bear-weed." It seems that bears greatly relished the skunk cabbage leaves and did not mind the smell or acrid flavor.
For humans, the raw plant causes a burning sensation in the mouth. Like other members of the arum family, the skunk cabbage contains crystals of calcium oxalate, which is an irritant that causes severe burning and sometimes even swelling in the throat. At first taste it is not that noticeable, but then it starts to prickle and burn, eventually setting your mouth and throat on fire.
According to the books, properly prepared, both the roots and the young leaves are a "gourmet's treat." Though personally, I think that those who suggest eating this plant either have a strong constitution or have never really tried it!
Eull Gibbons, the late wild-food enthusiast, had a reputation for cooking and eating just about anything that grew wild. He prepared skunk cabbage in a variety of ways. As a pot herb he took the young shoots and boiled them in many changes of water. For his efforts he had a not too tasty vegetable dish and a kitchen that smelled like a skunk!
Gibbons claimed that he was more successful when he stored the leaves and roots in a warm, dry place for about six months. The dried leaves could then be crumbled and added to stews and the roots ground to be used as a flour.
When I read that the ground roots tasted like chocolate I decided that this might be worth trying. But my efforts were thwarted by worms, which got to the drying plants before I did.
There is one very important warning that every wild-food gatherer should heed. You must be absolutely sure of the identity of any wild plants intended as food. Skunk cabbage can be mistaken for other plants that are poisonous. Never collect potential wild foods unless your are sure what you are collecting.
by CNB