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Montana Field Guides

Yellow Skunk-cabbage - Lysichiton americanus

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S4
C-value: 8


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

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General Description
Scapose, rhizomatous perennials with a skunky odor. Leaves basal, petiolate; blades elliptic to obovate, entire, 20–100 cm long, greatly expanding in fruit. Inflorescence: scape 15–80 cm, expanding in fruit; flowers densely clustered on a cylindrical spike (spadix) 3–14 cm long, mostly enclosed by a deciduous, yellow, hood-like bract (spathe) 10–20 cm long that sheaths the scape. Flowers perfect, yellowish; tepals 4, ca. 2 mm long, separate; stamens 4; ovary superior, 1- or 2-celled; style 1. Fruit a green to red, ovoid 1- or 2-seeded berry, 3–10 mm long embedded in the fleshy spadix (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Range Comments
AK to CA, ID and MT (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 97

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Vernally inundated, wet, organic soil of spruce swamps, alder thickets; valleys (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).


References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
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Citation for data on this website:
Yellow Skunk-cabbage — Lysichiton americanus.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from