Skunk CabbageSymplocarpus foetidus
---Description---The plant grows in abundance in moist places of the northern and middle United States. All parts of it have a strong, foetid odour, dependent upon a volatile principle, which is quickly dissipated by heat. The rhizome should be collected in the autumn or early spring, and should not be kept more than one season, as it deteriorates with age and drying. In commerce it is found in cylindrical pieces, 2 inches or more in length and about 1 in. in diameter, or, more commonly, in transverse slices, much compressed and corrugated. It is dark brown outside, white or yellowish within. The seeds are regarded as more energetic than the root, and preserve their virtues longer. They have an acrid taste, and emit the foetid odour only when bruised. The acridity of the root is absent in the decoction.
It is certainly one of the most interesting plants in all of Micmac materia medica. The root of the plant was used to treat diabetes. A small piece of root was steeped to a cup of water, and a tablespoon of the medicine taken three times daily. The root applied to gums is said to ease or cure toothache.
