Skunk Cabbages

This photo shows a pair of skunk cabbages growing side-by-side in the mud. They grow in a location that is pretty much always wet, due to a spring that causes water to seep out to the surface of the forest, and forms a small stream. If you look in the front corner of the photo, you can see the wet mud. Being early bloomers, as they are, the skunk cabbage plants often get damaged by frost. You can see evidence of frost damage on the green vegetation which protected the red "hoods" when they first emerged through the dirt.