If you live up in the Northeastern U.S., and get out into the country at all, you may have noticed that the skunk cabbage has begun to leaf out. It’s one of the earliest woodland plants to contribute any serious green, and always looks so bright and fresh this time of year.

Skunk cabbage is as fascinating as it is purty. Damn Interesting has an article up now by Cynthia Wood about how skunk cabbage blossoms exhibit thermogenesis — they are able to generate heat. It’s thought that the heat helps attract insect pollinators.

Here’s another article on the same phenomenon, with more details on other members of the arum family.

And here’s a third article with more general information on skunk cabbage, including a bit about how it has been used as a medicinal herb and, by Native Americans, as a food plant (it needs to be dried to be rendered edible, otherwise it’s so high in calcium oxalate that it would raise blisters in your mouth!)