 This is Eastern Skunk Cabbage. Wait, no, it's Western Skunk Cabbage. Don't confuse the two. Skunk Cabbage gets its name for a darn good reason, because you break the leaves and it could smell like rotted meat. Yeah, that's not very nice. Oh, I did that just for you? This isn't entirely a bad thing. Skunk Cabbage smells this way for two reasons. To scare away mammals like squirrels and raccoons, and attract pollinators like bees and flies. The exception being bears, because they really love eating the Skunk Cabbage when they first wake up in the spring. Before we talk about the health benefits of Skunk Cabbage, we need to talk about two things. First, we have to bring up the side effects. And that's because Skunk Cabbage is poisonous to dogs, cats, and humans. Eating just a wee bit can cause your mouth and skin to burn, lips and throat to swell, along with a joyous choking sensation. Eat a bunch and you'll get nausea, headaches, vertigo, and dizziness. Plus, you'll feel like you're swallowing a thousand needles and possibly die. Why the hell are we even talking about it then? Because once the leaves and roots are boiled down, you remove the calcium oxalate, which causes problems with people. Then it's safe to use and good for you. Sweet cheese and crackers, if that's the first one, what the heck is the second bombshell? It's cool. Luckily you'll like this one. That's because Skunk Cabbage is a rare type of plant that is thermogenic, meaning it generates its own heat. In fact, Skunk Cabbage can melt snow that falls around it and can maintain temperatures in the winter of 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which bumblebees will often take advantage of when it's just a bit too chilly in the spring. That's pretty wicked, right? Let me know in the comments if you agree. Hooray! Now we can get to the health benefits. There are health benefits for this thing, right? Yes, indeed there are. When it comes to digestion, Skunk Cabbage really isn't used that much. You lie to me? You're gonna jet, you're gonna jet fly it out. What we do know is it can help balance out gut health, which means it can be helpful for a variety of different digestive problems and eagles flying by. And now we're getting into where Skunk Cabbage really shines. It has been used for a wide variety of respiratory issues, as you can see by the list on the screen. The Dakota and Winnebago tribes. Yes, Winnebago was culturally appropriated by the RV companies. You may now act accordingly. Both these tribes and others have found Skunk Cabbage particularly helpful for asthma problems. And it's even used to help get bugs up your nose. Skunk Cabbage has even been employed to help a surprisingly long and varied list of different problems over the years. You might want to pause the read-a-mole. Now there are specific cases where Skunk Cabbage is used to help with epilepsy and convulsions during pregnancy or labor. Hello eagle and crows causing noise trouble during my shooting. I give you the bald eagle, eating, and all the crows wishing they were eating. And from 1820 to 1882, Skunk Cabbage was used in a medicine called dracon-tium that treated rheumatism and various neurological and respiratory problems. Which is a perfect segment to start talking about how it's good for earaches, headaches, and toothaches. And of course arthritis. What does this remind me? Apparently one of the ways I used to do it was by inhaling the smell of Skunk Cabbage. I'll leave it up to you if you want to try that. Skunk Cabbage has been used from anything from helping to close and heal bleeding wounds to dealing with hemorrhaging. Plus Skunk Cabbage tea decoctions are used to deal with external bruises, sores, and snake bites. And it's even used to help draw out splinters and thorns. All it takes to make the tea is a tablespoon of dried Skunk Cabbage root per cup of boiling water. And if you really want to get all the benefits out of it then steep it for about 20 to 30 minutes. Now as far as making the tea, I wouldn't suggest just drinking it as a tea because it's not going to taste very good. It's much like poppy seed tea. You're going to have to put a lot of other things in there like honey and such to really make it taste better. Really the best use of making it as a tea is to turn it into a decoction. You want to learn about another fun herb? Watch that video next. And claiming through the woods, trying to reach Skunk Cabbage for you. Ooh, there it is. It would sit down but it's really wet around here. That's because Skunk Cabbage loves moss in wet areas. I don't want to get my boat wet. Yeah!