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skunk cabbage

 - 2 dictionary results

skunk cabbage

–noun
1. a low, fetid, broad-leaved North American plant, Symplocarpus foetidus, of the arum family, having a brownish-purple and green mottled spathe surrounding a stout spadix, growing in moist ground.
2. a related plant, Lysichiton americanum, of western North America, having a cluster of green leaves and a spike of flowers surrounded by a yellow spathe.

Origin:
1745–55, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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skunk cabbage  
n.  
  1. An ill-smelling, eastern North American swamp plant (Symplocarpus foetidus) having minute flowers enclosed in a mottled greenish or purplish spathe.

  2. A western North American plant (Lysichitum americanum) having a bright yellow spathe with an inflated upper part.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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