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Around this time last year I published the post Bear Food! So this spring I thought I’d publish a shot of another spring time favourite of bears, this time the rather pungent ‘Skunk Cabbage’ (Lysichiton americanum). These plants are often found in moist, muddy and or swampy areas close to creeks and rivers and are often one of the earliest plants to bloom – however, it is not what is above ground that the bears favour, it is the succulent corms and roots beneath which they will dig up and devour, leaving the bright yellow flower & stem and the large green leaves strewn across the mud. When flowering, these plants do give off a rather distinctive aroma, especially when there are a number of them in close proximity. In the past, some first nations communities here on the BC coast – during times of hardship – have eaten the bitter skunk cabbage by steaming its cabbage-like leaves and eating them as a vegetable substitute. Dried, the large leaves have also been used as a lining for baskets and boxes.
