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The Araceae is a very large family, but most members occur in the tropics. The familiar houseplants of the genus Philodendron belong to the Araceae, as does the food plant taro (Colocasia esculenta). The Araceae is a family of mostly herbaceous perennials, some vining, with large entire to lobed leaves. The tiny, almost imperceptible, flowers are aggregated into a spike called a spadex, which is always accompanied by a modified sheathing leaf called a spathe. The fruits are berries, usually clustered at the base of the spadex. Many aroids are pollinated by carrion flies and the inflorescence emits an odor somewhat skunky or like rotting meat. Some tropical species (Arum) have very elaborate pollination mechanisms involving these flies. There are only a few members of the Araceae represented in temperate floras, and only one in our western Washington flora: skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus).

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Lysichiton americanus SKUNK CABBAGE Araceae Skunk cabbage is a robust perennial herb, 30-150 cm tall, with a skunky odor when in bloom. The leaves form a basal rosette of huge (1.5 m long x 0.5 m wide), broadly elliptic blades on short stalks. The flowers form tiny bumps along the greenish-yellow spadex which is surrounded by a bright yellow spathe. The inflorescence appears before or with the leaves in early spring. Skunk cabbage is common in swamps, wet forests, and wet meadows at low to middle elevations.