42 ICTODES FOTIDUS. 
cold of high latitudes. I have found the flowers a 
second time formed, and shooting from the ground 
in Noyember. ‘The strong and unpleasant odour 
which every part of the plant emits on being 
broken, and which is precisely similar to that of 
the Viverra mephitis ; has given it by an almost 
common consent, in every part of the country, the 
appellations of Skunk weed and Skunk cabbage. 
The structure of this singular vegetable has 
caused it successively to be assigned to the gene- 
ra drum, Dracontium and Pothos, with none of 
which it fully agrees. Of the Aroidex, to which 
it is related, it approaches most nearly in its flow- 
er to Pothos ; while its fruit has more affinity to 
Orontium. The Rev. Dr. Cutler many years ago, 
in the Transactions of the American Academy, 
pointed out the distinctive characters of this plant, 
and pronounced it a new genus. No name, how- 
ever, substantiated by a character, has to my knowl- 
edge been given it, in any botanical work, except 
the name of Symplocarpus, a term lately adopted 
by some American’ botanists on the alleged au- 
thority of Mr. Salisbury. As this name by its ety- 
mology implies a resemblance of the fruit to 
Symplocos, a genus with which the plant has not 
the least affinity ; it appears to me inadmissible. 
Although I am ayerse to multiply the confusion 
