Symplocarpus

Symplocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to United States, Canada and eastern Asia.<ref name=c>Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families</ref><ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref name=s>Flora of North America Vol. 22, Symplocarpus foetidus (Linnaeus) Salisbury ex W. P. C. Barton, Veg. Mater. Med. U.S. 1: 123. 1817. </ref><ref>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. </ref><ref>Bown, Deni (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press. Template:ISBN.</ref>

The best known species is Symplocarpus foetidus, commonly called "skunk cabbage".<ref name=s/>

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 Scotia<ref>Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map</ref>
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