The story
From skunk + cabbage, from the strong odor produced when the leaves are broken or torn.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
skunk cabbage
Today it means: Any of several leafy, foul-smelling plants, especially Symplocarpus foetidus, a low-growing plant native to the wetlands of eastern North America, but also denoting Lysichiton americanus and Lysichiton camtschatcense. Full definition →