Index / Search / Symplocarpus foetidus
§1 Plant
Symplocarpus foetidus (L.) Salisb. ex W.P.C. Barton
vernacular skunk cabbage — species · Araceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Monocot
- Family
- Araceae Juss.
- Genus
- Symplocarpus
§2a
Native status, by region
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 497 counties across 21 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- Low
- Moisture use
- High
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Medium
- CaCO₃
- Low
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -33 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 150 min.
- Precipitation
- 40–60 in/yr
- pH range
- 4–7
- Root depth
- 12 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Rhizomatous
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 2 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Purple
- Fire resistant
- Yes
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Summer
- Seed abundance
- Low
- Seed begins
- Spring
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 65,000
- Propagation
- seed, bare root
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Palatable, human
- No
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 497 counties across 21 states/territories.
Delaware view state ↗ 2 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Boone 17007
- Cook 17031
- Crawford 17033
- DeKalb 17037
- DuPage 17043
- Henderson 17071
- Jasper 17079
- Kane 17089
- Kankakee 17091
- Kendall 17093
- Lake 17097
- LaSalle 17099
- Lee 17103
- Mason 17125
- McHenry 17111
- Ogle 17141
- Peoria 17143
- Piatt 17147
- Putnam 17155
- Stephenson 17177
- Tazewell 17179
- Vermilion 17183
- Warren 17187
- Will 17197
- Winnebago 17201
- Woodford 17203
Indiana view state ↗ 35 N ▾
- Boone 18011
- Crawford 18025
- Delaware 18035
- Elkhart 18039
- Fountain 18045
- Hamilton 18057
- Howard 18067
- Huntington 18069
- Jasper 18073
- Jay 18075
- Jefferson 18077
- Johnson 18081
- Kosciusko 18085
- Lagrange 18087
- Lake 18089
- LaPorte 18091
- Madison 18095
- Marion 18097
- Montgomery 18107
- Noble 18113
- Owen 18119
- Parke 18121
- Porter 18127
- Putnam 18133
- Randolph 18135
- Shelby 18145
- St. Joseph 18141
- Starke 18149
- Steuben 18151
- Tippecanoe 18157
- Vigo 18167
- Warren 18171
- Wayne 18177
- Wells 18179
- White 18181
Kentucky view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 11 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 39 N ▾
- Baraga 26013
- Barry 26015
- Berrien 26021
- Branch 26023
- Calhoun 26025
- Cass 26027
- Charlevoix 26029
- Cheboygan 26031
- Chippewa 26033
- Clinton 26037
- Gogebic 26053
- Grand Traverse 26055
- Gratiot 26057
- Hillsdale 26059
- Houghton 26061
- Ingham 26065
- Ionia 26067
- Isabella 26073
- Jackson 26075
- Kalamazoo 26077
- Kent 26081
- Keweenaw 26083
- Leelanau 26089
- Lenawee 26091
- Livingston 26093
- Mackinac 26097
- Marquette 26103
- Mason 26105
- Mecosta 26107
- Missaukee 26113
- Montmorency 26119
- Muskegon 26121
- Osceola 26133
- Saginaw 26145
- Shiawassee 26155
- St. Clair 26147
- St. Joseph 26149
- Tuscola 26157
- Washtenaw 26161
Minnesota view state ↗ 17 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 7 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 20 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 31 N ▾
- Albany 36001
- Bronx 36005
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Chautauqua 36013
- Chemung 36015
- Columbia 36021
- Delaware 36025
- Dutchess 36027
- Erie 36029
- Kings 36047
- Madison 36053
- Monroe 36055
- Nassau 36059
- New York 36061
- Onondaga 36067
- Orange 36071
- Putnam 36079
- Queens 36081
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Rockland 36087
- Saratoga 36091
- Suffolk 36103
- Tioga 36107
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
- Wyoming 36121
North Carolina view state ↗ 8 N ▾
Ohio view state ↗ 61 N ▾
- Ashland 39005
- Ashtabula 39007
- Athens 39009
- Auglaize 39011
- Belmont 39013
- Butler 39017
- Carroll 39019
- Champaign 39021
- Clark 39023
- Clermont 39025
- Clinton 39027
- Columbiana 39029
- Coshocton 39031
- Cuyahoga 39035
- Darke 39037
- Delaware 39041
- Erie 39043
- Fairfield 39045
- Franklin 39049
- Fulton 39051
- Gallia 39053
- Geauga 39055
- Greene 39057
- Guernsey 39059
- Hamilton 39061
- Hancock 39063
- Harrison 39067
- Highland 39071
- Hocking 39073
- Holmes 39075
- Huron 39077
- Jefferson 39081
- Knox 39083
- Lake 39085
- Lawrence 39087
- Licking 39089
- Logan 39091
- Lorain 39093
- Lucas 39095
- Mahoning 39099
- Medina 39103
- Morrow 39117
- Muskingum 39119
- Perry 39127
- Portage 39133
- Preble 39135
- Richland 39139
- Ross 39141
- Sandusky 39143
- Scioto 39145
- Seneca 39147
- Shelby 39149
- Stark 39151
- Summit 39153
- Trumbull 39155
- Tuscarawas 39157
- Union 39159
- Washington 39167
- Wayne 39169
- Williams 39171
- Wyandot 39175
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 64 N ▾
- Adams 42001
- Allegheny 42003
- Armstrong 42005
- Beaver 42007
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Blair 42013
- Bradford 42015
- Bucks 42017
- Butler 42019
- Cambria 42021
- Cameron 42023
- Carbon 42025
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clarion 42031
- Clearfield 42033
- Clinton 42035
- Columbia 42037
- Crawford 42039
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Elk 42047
- Erie 42049
- Fayette 42051
- Forest 42053
- Franklin 42055
- Fulton 42057
- Huntingdon 42061
- Indiana 42063
- Jefferson 42065
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lawrence 42073
- Lebanon 42075
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- McKean 42083
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Montour 42093
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Pike 42103
- Potter 42105
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Somerset 42111
- Sullivan 42113
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Venango 42121
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Wayne 42127
- Westmoreland 42129
- York 42133
Rhode Island view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 77 N ▾
- Accomack 51001
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Appomattox 51011
- Arlington 51013
- Augusta 51015
- Bath 51017
- Bedford 51019
- Bland 51021
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Caroline 51033
- Carroll 51035
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesterfield 51041
- Clarke 51043
- Craig 51045
- Culpeper 51047
- Cumberland 51049
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Floyd 51063
- Fluvanna 51065
- Franklin 51067
- Frederick 51069
- Giles 51071
- Gloucester 51073
- Grayson 51077
- Greene 51079
- Halifax 51083
- Hanover 51085
- Henrico 51087
- Henry 51089
- Highland 51091
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- King William 51101
- Lancaster 51103
- Loudoun 51107
- Louisa 51109
- Lunenburg 51111
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- New Kent 51127
- Northumberland 51133
- Nottoway 51135
- Orange 51137
- Patrick 51141
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Powhatan 51145
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince George 51149
- Prince William 51153
- Pulaski 51155
- Rappahannock 51157
- Richmond 51159
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Shenandoah 51171
- Smyth 51173
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Surry 51181
- Tazewell 51185
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Warren 51187
- Washington 51191
- Westmoreland 51193
- Wythe 51197
West Virginia view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 53 N ▾
- Adams 55001
- Ashland 55003
- Bayfield 55007
- Brown 55009
- Burnett 55013
- Calumet 55015
- Chippewa 55017
- Columbia 55021
- Dane 55025
- Dodge 55027
- Douglas 55031
- Eau Claire 55035
- Fond du Lac 55039
- Grant 55043
- Green 55045
- Iowa 55049
- Jackson 55053
- Jefferson 55055
- Kenosha 55059
- Kewaunee 55061
- La Crosse 55063
- Lafayette 55065
- Langlade 55067
- Lincoln 55069
- Manitowoc 55071
- Marathon 55073
- Marinette 55075
- Marquette 55077
- Menominee 55078
- Milwaukee 55079
- Monroe 55081
- Oconto 55083
- Outagamie 55087
- Ozaukee 55089
- Polk 55095
- Portage 55097
- Racine 55101
- Richland 55103
- Rock 55105
- Rusk 55107
- Sauk 55111
- Shawano 55115
- Sheboygan 55117
- Taylor 55119
- Trempealeau 55121
- Vernon 55123
- Walworth 55127
- Washington 55131
- Waukesha 55133
- Waupaca 55135
- Waushara 55137
- Winnebago 55139
- Wood 55141
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/SYFO ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/2870117 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T14:17:10Z