#7 A Fetid Adder's Tongue Emerges from Under a Wet Winter Log

I was out on a hike through the redwoods on a recent rainy day and decided to take a moment to sit on a mossy log and enjoy the sights and sounds of the raindrops filling the surrounding puddles when I was rewarded with the additional delight of my first Fetid Adder’s Tongue, or Scoliopus bigelovii, sighting of the year.  One of the winter gems of the redwoods, this flower - along with the milkmaid and hounds tongue - is a mark of the rainy season settling in and a reminder of the season of spring flowers to come.  

Brought about by the rains, Fetid Adder’s Tongue's striking white and purple flowers prefer

damp and lush environments.  You’ll typically find this Lily relative in the deep dark of the redwood and other coastal coniferous forests in damp areas such as stream beds. (1) 

If you're looking to find one of these strange blooms, their range includes low lying areas of California’s coastal ranges (under 1500') from the Santa Cruz Mountains up through the Northern Coastal Ranges and into Oregon - though Oregon does have their own distinct species Scoliopus hallii. (2)

The Fetid Adder’s Tongue’s eerie appearance is fitting of its overall nature.  While many flowers look and smell sweet to attract their pollinators, this plant emits a putrid rotting smell to lure fungus gnats to pollinate its flowers. Once pollinated, these flowers create 3 seed pods that are attractive to ants.  Much like its local cousin the trillium, these ants will then take the seeds off and bury them to grow more Adder’s Tongue plants nearby.

Do you have any foul smelling flowers in your neck of the woods?

What are your local gems of winter?

1. Scoliopus bigelovii. Flora of North America.  Accessed January 14 2026.  ttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220012291

2. Fetid Adderstongues Genus Scoliopus. iNaturalist Accessed:Jan 15 2026 https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48989-Scoliopus#taxonomy-tab