Saddler's Woods Conservation Association (SWCA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to education, restoration, and research of Saddler's Woods, a 25 acre urban forest located in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Species Spotlight:
Eastern Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus
It’s early spring and a unique time in Saddler’s Woods! Before tall canopy trees have leafed out, sunlight can, for a few brief weeks, reach through the tangle of tree branches and warm the forest floor. This fleeting time of unfiltered sunlight is what gives rise to mosses, spring ephemeral flowers, and a host of herbaceous plants like skunk cabbage.
Look closely in wet leaf litter and you can often discover the skunk cabbage’s rising spathe, a mottled maroon, hood-like shell. It can look truly alien and weird! Look closer and inside this hood you will see its spadix, a knobby, fleshy spike covered in tiny pale flowers. It is truly magical, as it can produce heat and bloom early in the season, even if the ground is still frozen. Those white flower buds themselves can reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you’re close enough to the plant to see its spadix, you can likely smell it too! Skunk cabbage gives off a pungent odor of decay. That “skunk like” smell draws carrion beetles, fungus gnats, and ants to its spadix. These insects pollinate the plant. Pollinated flower heads develop berrylike fruits containing seeds, which germinate into new skunk cabbages the next growing season. They too are dispersed by insects and a host of woodland fauna.
A skunk cabbage loses its leaves annually, but the plant itself is a perennial and can live up to 20 years. This makes them an enduring lifeline for snails, insects, spiders, and the host of woodland critters that eat both the leaves and the insects it draws.
Over the eons, humans have made use of skunk cabbage for medicinal purposes. Native Americans have used it as a treatment for coughs and headaches. It also helps us humans by removing pollutants from the water and soil.
Skunk cabbage is also a great clue for landscape detectives. If you see skunk cabbage, you will know right away that a pocket of wetland exists. Especially when skunk cabbage has fully leafed out, it’s easy to spot and even if it’s a dry day – and you will know the wetland secret!
In Saddler’s Woods, which has been altered over the years by construction on its edges, it is still possible to know the ancient original streams. Simply read the forest floor and notice where skunk cabbages arise. On your next walk in the woods, see if you can find this hot smelly marvel, and maybe whisper a thank you – for all it’s doing for the forest.
- Janet Goehner-Jacobs, SWCA executive director
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities:
Saturday 3/14 10am - 12pm - REGISTRATION OPEN
Join us to help give the woods some TLC as winter turns to early spring when it is easy to identify invasive weeds. We are hosting our next 2nd Saturday Weeding event on Saturday March 14th from 10 - 12pm to focus on English ivy. We provide tools, work gloves and trash bags! Bring along your own water/ snacks to keep you going! Email Jeff Calhoun at calhounes@yahoo.com to register. Please provide names, ages, and any physical limitations or allergies. Note that the invasive removal activity is best suited for ages 12+ and registration is limited to 10 volunteers for safety. Thank you!
2nd Sunday Nature Walks
Back by popular demand! The 2nd Sunday nature walk series has returned. Join director of education, Jeff Calhoun on a guided walk of Saddler’s Woods and learn more about our local natural treasure. $15 per person. Age 12+. Limit 15. Registration in advance required. Walk is cancelled if no registrations. Spring season dates are: March 8, April 12 and May 10th 10am - 12pm. SWCA Nature Program Registration
SWCA is a registered nonprofit organization under Internal Revenue Service section 501(c)(3), and all contributions are tax deductible as permitted by law.
Donate easily via:
Venmo @SADDLERS-WOODS
Paypal PayPal.me/saddlerswoods
And yes, we also take checks made payable to Saddler’s Woods Conservation Association PO Box 189 Oaklyn, NJ 08107. Thank You!
SWCA is a non-profit organization managed by an all volunteer board. We rely completely upon your donations, business sponsorships, and grants to fulfill our mission of habitat restoration, community education, and scientific research. Please consider donating today!