American Skunk Cabbage - American Skunk of Leaf Emerging American Skunk Cabbage Plants at Almost Full Almost - Height at Cabbage Plants American Skunk C

Home , Arum maculatum, Lysichiton, Lysichiton americanus

First published 2013 Shutterstock Invasive: Medium impact Invasive: Documenting Ireland’s Wildlife Emerging leaf of American skunk cabbage - American skunk of leaf Emerging American skunk cabbage plants at almost full almost - height at cabbage plants American skunk C. O’ Flynn

- C. O’Flynn

Please report your sightings of this species at: this species of sightings your report Please http://invasives.biodiversityireland.ie Large green leaf surrounds a yellow spathe within spathe a yellow surrounds leaf green Large spadix (a spike which is a green/yellow inflorescence). of smelling the plant emits a foul As the name suggests, dying back.odour when damaged/crushed or when 1.5 metres. up to Can grow Terrestrial. Needs wet areas. wet Needs Terrestrial. Established. inflorescence within the same distinctive can occur and spadix. a spathe of is Pollination which consists in North America. beetles carried out by

Lysichiton americanus Lysichiton

American skunk cabbage skunk American

Colour: Colour: Identifying features Identifying Smell: Size:

Habitat: Status: Reproduction: flowers hermaphrodite) (sometimes Male and female Species proﬁ le proﬁ Species but locallySparse distribution in some places. abundant in Ireland: Distribution name: Family Araceae. The National Biodiversity Data Centre Data Biodiversity National The Size of American skunk cabbage spike and spadex against hand against and spadex cabbage spike American skunk of Size American skunk cabbage Invasive: Medium impact

Threats Forms dense stands which can shade out native species. Its preference for wet soils means that the seed can easily be dispersed via waterbodies.

Seasonal variations Winter – Spring: Late flowering plant. Summer – Autumn: Green berries ripen in July and August.

Similar species Shape of the flower could be confused with native Arum maculatum, but Arum maculatum has a smaller spathe and differs in colour from bright yellow spathes of Lysichiton americanus.

American skunk cabbage showing the spathe covering the spadex - Shutterstock

Arum maculatum is native to Ireland which has a spadex Planted American skunk cabbage, notice how the spadex outgrows the spathe which once shielded it - Shutterstock surrounding by a spathe L.Lysaght

View Ireland’s distribution of this species on http://maps.biodiversityireland.ie Biodiversity

National Biodiversity Data Centre fact sheet. Produced with funding from The Heritage Council Maps and the EPA STRIVE Programme 2007-2013 Text: Colette O' Flynn & Oisín Duffy (Version 1) November 2013.