Symplocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to United States, Canada and eastern Asia.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant FamiliesGovaerts, 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. 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.Flora of North America Vol. 22, Symplocarpus foetidus (Linnaeus) Salisbury ex W. P. C. Barton, Veg. Mater. Med. U.S. 1: 123. 1817. 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. Bown, Deni (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press. .
The best known species is Symplocarpus foetidus, commonly called "skunk cabbage".
Species Symplocarpus egorovii N.S.Pavlova & V.A.Nechaev - Primorye region of Russia Symplocarpus foetidus (L.) Salisb. ex W.P.C.Barton - southeastern Canada and northeastern United States, from Tennessee to Minnesota and Nova ScotiaBiota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map Symplocarpus nabekuraensis Otsuka & K.Inoue - Mt. Nabekura in west-central Honshu in Japan Symplocarpus nipponicus Makino - Korea, northern Japan, northeastern China Symplocarpus renifolius Schott ex Tzvelev - Russian Far East, Korea, northern Japan, northeastern China
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