The start of the Skunk Cabbage, originally uploaded by Gavatron.
A sure sign of spring is the emergence of Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). While walking the dogs in the Nordheimer Ravine today, I noticed some cabbage is beginning its 2010 growing season. This is the earliest that I’ve noticed the Cabbage in this location, but it’s also the earliest that I’ve gone looking for it.
This photograph (right), taken in the same spot in 2008, show what the flower will look like in early March.