Know Thy Flowers: Skunk Cabbage

From Mount Rainier National Park:

Know Thy Flowers: Skunk Cabbage 
(Lysichiton americanus)

Generally the first plant to bloom in spring, the bright yellow "flower" of the skunk cabbage is actually a modified bract, or leaf. The true flowers form a dense yellow-green spike that gives off a distinctive skunk-like smell. The glossy green basal leaves can grow to be up to five feet (1.5 meters) long. Very common and easy to spot emerging from wet swampy ground throughout the park. Have you seen them this year? 

NPS Photo ~kl