Definition of skunk cabbage
: any of several early-blooming perennial herbs of the arum family that occur in shaded, wet to swampy areas and have a fetid odor suggestive of a skunk:
a : one (Symplocarpus foetidus) of eastern North America and eastern Asia that has a hoodlike, brownish-purple spathe
b : one (Lysichiton americanus synonym L. americanum) chiefly of the Pacific coast region of North America that has a large yellow spathe
c : one (Lysichiton camtschatcensis synonym L. camtschatcense) of eastern Asia that has a large white spathe
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Time Traveler for skunk cabbage
The first known use of skunk cabbage was in 1751
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