DISTANT COUSINS

1. Lysichiton americanus, also known as Skunk cabbage.

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Spring is inching forward, working its tender way into my consciousness with light shifts and color sparks. The days are noticeably longer, the grass and moss have greened up, a few birds have begun singing, and the wildflower parade is getting started. On a walk last week, I spotted one of the earliest wildflowers rising from the murky muck of a wetland. Skunk cabbage – it may not be a pretty name and all I saw was a handful of muddy buds – but that’s all it took to inject a surge of energy into my step.

Lest you Easterners get confused, the Eastern North America plant called Skunk cabbage isn’t the same as the Western one. They belong to the same family, the Araceae, but the Eastern species looks different and is arguably stinkier – anyone who’s stepped on an Eastern skunk cabbage leaf knows how foul that odor can be!

Both plants have oversized, bold, cabbage-like leaves and dozens of tiny flowers neatly arranged on a spadix – the candle-shaped structure on the left in the photo above. The spadix (or flower spike) is protected by a spathe, which looks like a large petal. Western Skunk cabbage plants sport a bright gold spathe, which is why they’re also called Swamp lanterns.

2. Skunk cabbage or Swamp lantern buds.
3. Swamp lanterns on March 23rd, a few years ago.

Interestingly, both plants have close relatives in Asia. The Western species is Lysichiton americanus and its Asian relative is Lysichiton camtschatcensis. The Eastern species is Symplocarpus foetidus, with four other Symplocarpus species in Asia. It’s theorized that Lysichiton and Symplocarpus each migrated across the Bering land bridge millions of years ago, eventually finding their separate territories.

I read somewhere that our Skunk cabbage emits odors that vary with the temperature to help attract different insects for pollination. Amazing, right? It fits with my experience. The first time I photographed Skunk cabbage after moving to the West, I entered what I can only describe as an altered state of consciousness. Expecting a foul odor because of my experience with Skunk cabbage back East, I was surprised to smell what to me was a pleasant odor – not sweet like a rose but heavy, musky, and fragrant. As I got closer to the plants for close-ups I inhaled more and more of the scent and became intoxicated by it. No one else was around. It was just the quiet wetland, hundreds of Skunk cabbage plants heavy with scent, and me. I felt like I was truly communing with the plants.

The next year, I hoped to have the same experience, but no! I have never smelled the same heavy scent again even though I’ve been near large clusters of Skunk cabbage several times. It must have been the temperature – maybe the humidity, too.

But I digress (easy to do with cool plants). I want to introduce another plant that belongs to the same Araceae family: Elephant ears, or Colocasia esculenta. This is the distant cousin in the title of the post. Elephant ears are popular garden plants and are the important root vegetable known as taro, one of the earliest plants to be cultivated by humans. The starchy, tropical vegetable is a staple across many cultures, from Jamaica to West Africa, India, the Philipines, and beyond. I like Elephant ears because their giant leaves add drama to a little group of potted plants in front of my house. In winter I bring the plant inside. It’s clearly not happy there but it gets by until I can put it back out in the fresh air.

4. Colocasia leaves begin as tightly-rolled cylinders that slowly unfurl into huge, pendulent, heart-shaped leaves.
5. Elephant ears on the deck last summer.

Elephant ears have the same spadix and spathe structure as their distant relatives, Lysichiton and Symplocarpus. This is what distinguishes the family they belong to, the Araceae, or Arums. There are thousands of Arum species, mainly in the tropics. You may be familiar with Jack-in-the-pulpit or Philodendron, both in the Araceae family. The family has been around for more than 100 million years and includes the giant Sumatran Titan arum, or Corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) which truly smells rotten when it blooms, once a year at most. A duckweed called Wolffia also belongs to the Araceae and is the smallest flowering plant on the planet!

I wasn’t aware of all this last week when I was busy photographing the leaves of my Elephant ear plant. It’s an appealing subject and that was enough. But later that day I was walking in a forest that gives way to swampy wetlands, thanks to the work of the American beaver. In the muddy wetland, I saw the first Skunk cabbage buds of the year! It occurred to me that it was similar to the Elephant ear I’d been photographing that morning. I delved into google, and here we are. Distant cousins, one biding its time indoors until it can grace the driveway edge and the other just beginning its annual cycle, snuggled in the wet woods.

6. See the bumps under that spathe? Those are the flower buds!
8. A Skunk cabbage with an artfully drooping spathe.
9. What luck! I found two slugs enjoying each other’s company inside a Skunk cabbage spathe. Black and white works better here. This is one of the photos I made the first time I saw Western Skunk cabbage and became intoxicated with its fragrance.
10. Another handsome Skunk cabbage plant rises from the detritus.

11. An infrared treatment.
10. An Elephant ear leaf in black and white.
11. Begging for more light in winter.
12. A dried Elephant ear leaf.

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13. The stem of the dried leaf and its shadow.

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14. A closer view.
15. Taking liberties with color.
16. Behind tangles of vines, Swamp lanterns beam their cheerful Spring song.

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60 comments

  2. An outstanding post, Lynn. I especially like the last two photos. It reminds me that I have been promising myself a macro lens for the Oly and now I want one more than ever. I’ll keep looking. Nice work,

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    • I lost my previous reply, trying to answer on the phone doesn’t work well. Anyway, YES! Get one. They just came out with a new 90mm but it’s very pricey. Then there’s a 30mm and a 60mm. I can’t speak for the 30mm but the 60mm is great. I’ve used it far more than any other lens, for closeups and general work. It’s a real workhorse. I bet you could find a good deal on a used one, since they’re so well made and have been out for a long time. I hope you go for it. 🙂 Thanks for commenting and I’m glad you like the last two. It was fun switching the colors up and the last photo is something I love doing with the 60mm – setting it on f2.8 (usually) and letting the background go out of focus. I’ll admit to only a little extra background softness with LR. 😉

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  3. I agree with “oneowner,” outstanding, unexpected beauty from a plant with such a homely name, dross into silver and gold. #2 looks absolutely extraterrestial, very cool. Now that I see the gold lanterns in #3 I’m envious of this western variety, so glad you discussed the varieties, I learned something. And the differing scents depending on temperature, that’s fascinating, I’ll have to (carefully) follow my nose this spring around them as the temps go up & down.
    #6 immediately makes me hungry for steamed sweet corn. #10 is indeed handsome and a bit like finding a jack-in-the-pulpit. And the BxW elephant ears all have such appealing textures and miniature landscapes, I think the one numbered ten (but maybe should be 12?) is my favorite of the whole album. What a really cool post.

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    • First, thanks for pointing out the number goof – I published this in a hurry because we were going out of town. Got to fix that! I didn’t know about the Western species until I moved out here. I’m not sure if the temperature/scent change function is a property that both plants have – I think I was reading about Western skunk cabbage and I don’t want you to hold me accountable for any difficult moments…
      I see the corn resemblance…glad you like the black and whites, whatever they’re numbers may be…
      Thanks so much for your comment!

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    • I hadn’t known that until I moved here. It’s clearly a close relative but such a different look, with that yellow color. I’m really glad you like that photo, John, thank you very much.

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  10. Wonderful. Love the shot of the rolled-up leaf.

    Your opening gambit (“Spring is inching forward”) had me googling to look up the speed of spring in the UK – apparently it is 2 mph (https://www.britishscienceassociation.org/news/how-fast-does-spring-travel). I remember hearing about it before, but couldn’t recollect the actual figure. I thought I remembered it being in the region of walking speed.

    ✨🦋🐍🕊🐉🗝⚖🕯🤍⚛🎐🎋🙏✨

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  11. Your Skunk cabbage is very curious!
    About the “elephant ear”… in our islands of the Azores, in the middle of the Atlantic, one of the typical foods is yam (inhame, em português) with sausage (linguiça). I think it’s the species Colocasia esculenta, but I’m not sure. Its leaves are like these, but sometimes gigantic, which almost hide us!
    It’s probably a distant cousin too!

    I love the black and white details of the leaves. They are beautiful!👌

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    • It really is a fascinating plant and an excellent subject for the camera (or the pencil!). It sounds like your inhame is the same plant, C. esculenta, and it just grows really big in the Azores. Very cool! I’m glad you liked the black and white photos. Thanks, Dulce!

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  12. Dear Lynn,
    what a knowledgeable study in word and picture of the Elephant Ear. We are impressed how much you know about plants. We learned a lot about this plant we didn’t know before.
    Thank you!
    Keep well, happy and healthy
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  13. When I first heard “elephant ears”, it reminded me of crispy cinnamon-sugar fried bread. Then I saw the picture and thought, are you sure that’s not a Philodendron? But once again, you’re way ahead of me…

    Nice pics overall, but I’m partial to the B/W in this set, especially #9 and #10.

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    • Those elephant ears are good! I had one the day before yesterday. Glad you liked the black and white – these plants really lend themselves to that. OK, don’t eat too many pastries! 🙂

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  14. I totally value your passion for these two amazing plants and all that they offer. When I saw your Elephant Ear photo I immediately thought of Taro or Kalo as it is called in Hawaii. Taro roots are the basic food source of the Native Hawaiian culture and is often pounded in to poi. There is a large agricultural movement among the Native Hawaiians to restore and rebuild the planting of Kalo. Most of the taro fields are on Kauai in the Hanalei area, however, the central parts of Maui that were once cane fields are being converted in to Taro fields. Below in a description of Kalo or Taro taken from the Bishop Museum website, Honolulu:

    “The name taro is generally used to refer to Colocasia esculenta, one of several major root crops in the Araceae family (aroids). Taro probably originated in southeast Asia or southern Asia. It is believed to be one of the earliest crops to be domesticated with several centers of domestication, one being in New Guinea.

    Early Pacific voyagers carried taro with them throughout the Pacific. Taro is still one of the most important staple food items in the region. Besides its importance as a subsistence crop, taro is also produced as a cash crop, mostly for sale in local markets. Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji all produce significant amounts of taro. In addition to being a staple food, taro often has tremendous cultural significance to Pacific islanders.

    While taro is the most widely grown aroid throughout the Pacific, there are several related crops that are also grown in the region and which may be more important in certain locations. These are giant swamp taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis or Cyrtosperma merkusii), giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza), and cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium). All of these aroids are important crops throughout the tropical regions of the world. Because of this, each of these aroids has many common names and, confusingly, some common names can refer to more than one of them.”

    Thank you for your positive stance with these amazing plants!!!

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    • Gee, Phil, I should have conferred with you before publishing this, then I could have included that information. 🙂 I’ve heard of the Bishop Museum but haven’t been there. It’s great to hear that some of those sugar plantations have been replanted with a more suitable plant that honors native culture. Thank you, I’m so glad you commented on this post. When are we going to Hawaii??? 🙂

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      • Lynn-No need to confer with me, you are knowledgeable and you know what you are doing. Hawaii, hopefully this spring as ohana keeps asking us about “when” so I think sooner rather than later. Bishop Museum is the museum to go to when in Hawaii as they have terrific resources and are well funded through the Bishop Estate.

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  15. Awesome pictures, all of them! Wow, amazing plants. I think on first glance I would be more than happy to see these joyful yellow “lanterns” while stumbling ;-), uh, walking in a muddy area with little light in the dark wood! What a sight it must be! And then a whole field, so great! Interesting all those relations and how funny, that you noticed that the elephant ear is a cousin of the Skunk cabbage! Sometimes we need a second look, right? We have Amorphophallus titanum in our botanical garden (Berggarten), in the greenery, but unfortunately I always forget to take a look at the right time of the year! Our next relative of this species is probably Arum maculatum. A small plant with big orange berries that grows on the forest floor. Like your lanterns, bright, but not so big.
    Your photos are so beautiful. I love the details of the leaves and the pictures with the stems! One can really “dive” (delve) into the plant, explore every centimetre of it and you did in such a wonderful way!

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    • The Corpse flower is a favorite of botanical gardens – do you see news stories about yours when it’s flowering? They do that here and people line up to come to see them (and smell them, I guess!). I’ve never been in the right place at the right time to see one flowering. Your A. maculatum looks a lot like a plant (Arisaema triphyllum) that people love in the eastern and midwestern parts of the US. It’s called Jack-in-the-pulpit because it looks like a person preaching from a pulpit. I don’t know why he’s called Jack, don’t ask me. 😉 That plant also has big berries – red ones.
      I appreciate your enthusiasm, Almuth. You know how much I love plants. It’s so much fun to photograph those leaf details! Thank you! (The comment above yours has interesting information about Colocasia esculenta in Hawaii – it’s from Phil, the leader of our Elephant seal volunteer group, who lived in Hawaii).

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      • I always miss the right time to see it flowering too. I found a video on the site and it was nice to see the whole process of flowering in 2 minutes 😉 I hope I can see and not! smell it one day, haha.
        Jack-in-the-pulpit! I think you told me about it before. A real funny name. What was Viola cornuta? Johnny something? You have really strange plant names ;-)!!!
        Yes, I noticed the comment! Very interesting! I looked for it in Wikipedia. The “fruits” / root bulbs look funny, like easter eggs. It must be a very good food plant.
        Your macros of the leaves are so beautiful. I really love them (do I repeat meyself?) 🙂 Wish you a nice time!

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        • Good memory – the viola is called Johnny-jump-up. So cute. I think lots of those names are thanks to early British settlers. I could be wrong. Leaves – I might do a post about leaves someday. I have SO many photos of leaves!! Thank you!!!

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        • Blue-eyed Mary 🙂 (Collinsia parviflora, a native here, actually called Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary!!!
          Another boy – Sweet William. (Dianthus barbatus – you must know that one)
          Oh, Black-eyed Susan!! (Rudbeckia hirta – you know that one, too)
          Gotta go get coffee now! And it’s awfully late where you are!!! 😉

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        • I know Susan! I know Dianthus barbatus, but not William 😉 I think I have to do some researches, haha. Thank you for the infos. I will think about our flower names….
          Late? I don’t know what you are talking about. Time is relative 😁
          Enjoy your coffee!

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  16. I was mildly amused by your musing that spring is beginning to show itself having just arrived back from 2.5 months of an Aussie summer. Van feels cold and raw and spring a long way off though I am glad to be home.
    I do love the golden colour of the skunk cabbage, but what I enjoyed most about this post was the black and white treatment of most photos. I have two sisters who are photographers and I spent a lot of time with them in Oz. They encouraged me to delve deeper into the B&W world, hence my seeing them in a new way.
    Alison

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    • It does feel cold and raw, I agree! It’s only slightly better down here – I know because we were just in Vancouver for a few days last week. Do you know the Indian restaurant 7th Taste – Ananda Bhavan? It’s in a little strip mall on Kingsway, not much to look at but I had the best dahi vada I’ve ever eaten and an excellent dosa. The people are wonderful – it’s South Indian home cooking.
      Nice to hear about your sisters encouraging you to delve into black and white more. I look forward to hearing more about your time in OZ!

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  18. Well done! Skunk Cabbages are always a very nice late winter surprise in the northwest. I don’t think anyone seeing them on a walk or hike continues on without a smile & thoughts of spring. Your B&W photos are wonderful.
    Are you familiar with the photography publication LensWorks which is published in Anacortes, WA?
    https://www.lenswork.com/

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    • 🙂 Thank you, yes, I’m familiar with Lenswork. Brooks Jensen has done a lot for photography. He used to live here in Anacortes but moved to a town north of here 4 or 5 years ago, just when I moved here from a Seattle suburb. I guess they still have an office in town. I was very grateful to be included in the 2018 “Seeing in Sixes” book that Lenswork publishes. It’s nice to read your appreciative comment on this rainy day…but we need it! 🙂

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  20. Stunning images representing these interesting plants! Your ‘Swamp Lanterns’ photo #3 is a favorite, as are the #10 & #11 monochromes. And, you’ve captured the details in many of the others beautifully. Wonderful post Lynn!

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  21. An excellent homage to these two interesting plants, Lynn. Your photos are excellent. I love the Swamp Lantern photo- an apt name and that’s a cool experience with the odor of the skunk cabbage. Loved your black and white studies – interesting close-ups, angles, textures (the dried up leaf!) Thank you- I learned a lot. 🤗

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    • 🙂 Actually, I learned a lot, too. What a difference search engines make! It’s nice to hear you like the black-and-white photos. These plants seem to lend themselves to that, even though the yellow color is very striking in the spring woods when there isn’t a lot of green. I was amazed to find out about this plant when I moved out here – it’s quite different from the eastern version that I had known for years. From one lover of photographing plants to another – long live leaves!! 🙂

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  23. Great set, Lynn! Skunk cabbage = Stinkkool.. 🙂 Love the 2nd shot; bit scary.. as if a weird creature can suddenly jump out of them and crawl it’s way into your belly button.. but maybe I have seen too many Alien movies with my son.. Are they red, those ‘lanterns’ buds? Would be nice if they would glow a little red.. 🙂 In the 3rd shot I like the ‘group-appearance’ and they seem to be ‘on their way’. I like that; that things that can’t move are on their way, like myself.. ;-). Nr10 shows the ‘beauty of the gesture’ very well. The 2nd nr10 is probably my fav. with it’s darkness and that piercing, strong diagonal. In the 2nd nr11 I like what’s going on in between the main structure; feels like floating; great choice to show it in B&W. Thanks for putting my nose on the Stinkkool.. ( Symplocarpus foetidus, I found overhere.. most likely the one from the East..) Enjoy the weekend! I have to do another round before I can slow down into the Saturday.

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    • So in Dutch, cabbage is kool? Cool! I liked the weird feeling in #2 but I didn’t have visions of alien creatures coming out of the buds and attacking me – now I feel unimaginative. 😦 Yeah, I bet they glow red at night when everyone is gone. I see what you see in the third photo, too, a feeling that they’re marching…coming to get you…YOU! I’m sorry about the numbering – thanks for distinguishing the two #10’s. Someone mentioned it and I thought I would fix it but then everyone’s favorites would be wrong so I left it.
      I also liked the infrared because the plant look like it’s floating. Infrared effects are great sometimes, aren’t they?
      Yes, that’s the one from the east that you’ve seen – I don’t know why anyone would plant it.
      Have you slowed down now??

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  24. Hi, Thanks so much for your comment, which for some unknown reason, I don’t see on the post or in the comments section on my WP site. That’s why I never replied – I must have glanced at this email and figured I would reply to all the comments right on the blog. But yours just isn’t there. In any case, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos! You don’t have to be a botanist to appreciate plants, right? 🙂

    Lynn (Bluebrightly)

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