On our bike ride yesterday afternoon, along a wooded trail that runs adjacent
to the Fraser River, we encountered the 'skunk cabbage' - not by
it's disreputable odour - but by it's bright yellow 'bloom' and
unusual appearance.
At home we 'Googled' it and found the following:

"The skunk cabbage blooms long before any other spring wildflower. It also looks very different from most other wildflowers. Instead of having petals, there is a single leaf-like looking sheath called a "spathe." It is hood-shaped and maroon streaked with greenish-yellow. The spathe protects the "spadix," which is a fleshy club-shaped spike. The spadix looks fuzzy because it is crowded with tiny flowers with no petals. Its bad odor attracts bees, flies, and gnats which pollinate it. Large leaves emerge later and grow to the size of rhubarb leaves."