Latin name: Symplocarpus foetidus
The lowly skunk cabbage is made not-so-lowly by the fact that when it is at the height of its greenness there is precious little other green to be found. Its flowers, barely visible in this picture, are unpretentious by also somewhat exotic, minarets open on one side to reveal a sphere within dotted by stamens like cloves embedded in an orange.
I like the striking contrast between the green of the leaves and the brown of last year's fallen sodden forest cover. I also like the shinyness and the metaphorical contrast between life and death.
Again with this picture I played around with colour contrast and brightness. This, to my mind, has an effect similar to the use of a warm flash (no flash was used). I also added a bit of sharpening, although not much was needed.
