Ten-year-old Valentina King of Campton Hills gets a close-up photo of Skunk Cabbage Saturday during a Skunk Cabbage Hunt at Bliss Woods Forest Preserve in Sugar Grove. King and her family are regular guests at the local Kane County Forest Preserve programs.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
The fresh smell of skunk cabbage was floating through the air at Bliss Woods in Sugar Grove.
Normally upward of 20 to 30 plus people show up for early spring programs according to Kane County Forest Preserve Naturalist Erica Lemon.
This Saturday only five explorers were on hand in addition to Lemon who was leading the hike.
The small group of "regulars" tread carefully off trail led by Lemon as they looked for the perennial wildflower which normally grows in swampy wet areas.
Mud and standing water didn't stop the group as ten-year-old Valentina King of Campton Hills was the first to spot the elusive plant.
To attract pollinators the plant emits an unpleasant smell similar to rotting meat.
Skunk Cabbage sprouts very early in the spring, and creates its own heat through a chemical reaction, melting the snow around itself as it grows.
Even thought the program was outside Lemon theorized that the group was small most likely due to the scare of the Coronavirus.
For information on future hikes and programs you can check out the Kane County Forest Preserve online.
Kane County Forest Preserve Naturalist Erica Lemon, center left, leads a small group people Saturday on a Skunk Cabbage Hunt at Bliss Woods Forest Preserve in Sugar Grove. The perennial wildflower grows in swampy, wet areas. Skunk Cabbage sprouts very early in the spring, and creates its own heat, melting the snow around itself as it grows. Lemon says that they normally get upward of 20-30 people on these hikes and the group of five explorers Saturday was small most likely due to the Coronavirus.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
Kane County Forest Preserve Naturalist Erica Lemon, bottom left, leads a small group people Saturday on a Skunk Cabbage Hunt at Bliss Woods Forest Preserve in Sugar Grove. The perennial wildflower grows in swampy, wet areas. Skunk Cabbage sprouts very early in the spring, and creates its own heat, melting the snow around itself as it grows. Lemon says that they normally get upward of 20-30 people on these hikes and the group of five explorers Saturday was small most likely due to the Coronavirus.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
Skunk Cabbage sprouts very early in the spring, and creates its own heat, melting the snow around itself as it grows.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
Kane County Forest Preserve Naturalist Erica Lemon, right, leads a small group people Saturday on a Skunk Cabbage Hunt at Bliss Woods Forest Preserve in Sugar Grove. Lemon says that they normally get upward of 20-30 people on these hikes and the group of five explorers Saturday was small most likely due to the Coronavirus.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com