![]() The other wildflowers that follow the skunk cabbage are not as devious, but they too deploy unique strategies to thrive in Vermont. Instead, they are tricked into pollinating the clever plant. The stench attracts flies and carrion beetles thinking the flower is food. As its name suggests, a skunk cabbage’s flower emits a putrid smell. This not only enables the plant to jump start its season, but immediately attracts pollinators. The skunk cabbage flower blooms and generates heat for twelve to fourteen days, remaining an average of 36 degrees Fahrenheit above the outside temperature day and night. One of the few species of plants in the world able to generate heat through a process called thermogenesis, skunk cabbages can melt the frozen soil and snow around itself to emerge and flower before the last gasps of winter have left the landscape. Skunk cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus) thrusts its flower from the frozen ground in the early spring. ![]() Now that spring has sprung, let us welcome in the season with anticipation and appreciation for the amazing plants that are about to erupt from the frozen ground and usher in the growing season.įirst to spring into the landscape may not be as well loved as the flowers to follow, but its unique strategy for life in Vermont makes it stand out among the rest. This article on identifying common spring wildflowers of Vermont was written by Mollie Flanigan, Land Stewardship Coordinator. Kingdom Heritage Trails in the Northeast Kingdom.
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