Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 24, 2026

Symplocarpus

Symplocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to United States, Canada and eastern Asia. The genus is characterized by having large leaves and deep root systems with contractile roots used for changing the plant's level with the ground. Symplocarpus species grow from a rhizome and their leaves release a foul odor when crushed.

Last revised
Jun 24, 2026
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Symplocarpus
Symplocarpus foetidus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Orontioideae
Genus: Symplocarpus
(L.) Salisb. ex W.P.C.Barton1
Synonyms2
  • Spathyema Raf.
  • Ictodes Bigelow

Symplocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to United States, Canada and eastern Asia.23 The genus is characterized by having large leaves and deep root systems with contractile roots used for changing the plant's level with the ground. Symplocarpus species grow from a rhizome and their leaves release a foul odor when crushed.456

The best known species is Symplocarpus foetidus, commonly called "skunk cabbage".4

Species

  1. Symplocarpus egorovii N.S.Pavlova & V.A.Nechaev - Primorye region of Russia
  2. Symplocarpus foetidus (L.) Salisb. ex W.P.C.Barton - southeastern Canada and northeastern United States, from Tennessee to Minnesota and Nova Scotia7
  3. Symplocarpus nabekuraensis Otsuka & K.Inoue - Mt. Nabekura in west-central Honshu in Japan
  4. Symplocarpus nipponicus Makino - Korea, northern Japan, northeastern China
  5. Symplocarpus renifolius Schott ex Tzvelev - Russian Far East, Korea, northern Japan, northeastern China
References

References

  1. "Symplocarpus (L.) Salisb. ex W.P.C.Barton". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1-560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  4. Flora of North America Vol. 22, Symplocarpus foetidus (Linnaeus) Salisbury ex W. P. C. Barton, Veg. Mater. Med. U.S. 1: 123. 1817.
  5. Flora of China, Vol. 23 Page 5, 臭菘属 chou song shu, Symplocarpus Salisbury ex W. P. C. Barton, Veg. Mater. Med. U. S. 1: 124. 1817.
  6. Bown, Deni (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-485-7.
  7. Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map