Oxalate Crystal

Ok. I had to know. What is an oxalate crystal? Why do these two words show up in every discussion of skunk cabbage. What they do is successfully produce a nasty sour taste as well as poisonous condition  in the herbivore's mouth- large deer, or small rabbit, for instance, looking for a green salad after a very icy winter. The oxalate crystals make the muncher's mouth burn fiercely and swell. So it is understandable that any animal who lunches on skunk cabbage will feel the mouth pain before supper. But that's not all.  These raphids, or crystals, are made up of calcium.  Most undesirable is  the oxalate, a  poisonous, crystalline  acid that produces this sour taste  and causes the burning, swelling and choking.  Some scientists suggest that this is the way woody plants get rid of the much needed calcium they must absorb  for growth.  Rhubarb and spinach are two common edible plants that have a significant amount of oxalate crystals. Interestingly, humans who suffer with kidney stones, or oxalate crystals that are excreted painfully in the urine, also are advised to eat a low oxalate diet.

The American Indian And Skunk Cabbage

Now that you know skunk cabbage can warm itself similar to a warm-blooded mammal, you might wonder if it serves any other function. The American Indians certainly thought so. They harvested  the root in the fall to make a tea for  relieving  a cough, toothache, asthma or seizures. Unlike the leaves, the root does not produce the intense burning from the long oxalate crystals.(There is much more to learn about these crystals. Skunk cabbage uses them successfully as a protection against hungry animals looking for some vegetation after a winter of ice and snow. But oxalate crystals are all around us-even in us. This is a great example of the value of research-it just goes one and on to whet your curiosity and exercise your brain at any age.) The resourceful Indians  would also inhale the plant's  fumes to bring on intense sweating which, in turn, acted like an expectorant to cough up phelgm. Inhaling these crushed leaves also  relieved headaches.  One can just imagine that that the odor was so intense, the victim forgot about his headache! However, the plant is said to have a narcotic affect. Perhaps the serotonin in the plant's oil encourages a feeling of well-being. Crushed soft leaves also provided a poultice for swelling. Besides these medicinal uses, the American Indians used this plant for seasoning, a liner for a cooking pot, a food to fight famine at the end of a long brown winter, and as a drinking cup. Can you imagine why skunk cabbage served these needs? Discovering the answers will encourage your young friend and you to imagine and reason while on your skunk cabbage adventure.