SKUNK-CABBAGE 



sunshine and, led either by the odor of the flowers or 

 seeking the shelter of the fleshy tent, they enter and, 

 crawling up, are covered with the abundant pollen; 

 then entering another spathe, they leave some of this 

 pollen upon the receptive stigmas. Sometimes honey- 

 bees visit the plant, but its chief reliance seems to be 

 upon the small flies. 



Miiller in his studies of the Skunk-Cabbage states 

 that as the flowers open the temperature rises and so 

 these little tents are not only shelter houses but places 

 of actual w^armth for the minute flies which frequent 

 them. 



After the flowering time is over the compactly 

 coiled, pointed spike of leaves unfolds. The plant is 

 regarded by farmers as something of a menace, for 

 cattle in early spring, longing for something green, 

 wdll frequently eat these leaves, which are acrid and 

 poisonous. A common country name for the plant is 

 Bear Weed, so called because bears were supposed to 

 eat it when just awakened from their winter sleep, but 

 it must be a hot morsel even for a bear. 



The fruit ripens in September. By this time the 

 thick spathe has decayed and fallen away, and the 

 spadix has now become a large ball of bright-red 

 berries, each about the size of a pea. This is found 

 upon the ground close to the base of the leaves. 



Two facts explain the Skunk-Cabbage's ability to 

 swing into the race so early in the spring. The first 

 is its enormous root development; the second because 

 the flower is so w^ell started in the fall; sometimes the 

 thick, pointed spathes may be found pushing up into 

 the light in November. 



