Pickle Plug?

Yesterday I got to go on a spring ephemerals nature hike with Tim Lee, Ranger Extraordinaire. It was amazing, fabulous, informative and I learned lots ... but what, I hear you ask, is a pickle plug?

Well,it began like this. We were at the end of the day and eagle-eyed Sue, that's me, spotted three bright yellow pinecone-like objects poking out of the soil at the base of a tree.
"What's that I ask?"
"Ah, good, well done." Says Tim.
He gathers the group around, "This is Squaw Root, or Cancer Root, but I call it Bear Root.*"
A long confusing conversation occurs among several Master Naturalists about bears and springtime and their "pickle plugs" which they now need to remove. Bear Root, I learn, was great to remove pickle plugs.
But wait? Pickle plug I ponder, what could possibly be a pickle plug? Bears hibernated so they had a pickle plug? Where did they get the pickle? Once they had obtained their pickle - what? how? why? ... and wouldn't it sting?
I was thoroughly confused. So I asked. "What is a pickle plug?' Fifteen Master Naturalists turn and look at me. "What?!" one asks. In confused innocence I continue "Well, she's saying pickle plug, and I don't understand what that is." And as I say these words out loud it occurs to me she's saying "fecal plug" and the whole purpose of eating high fiber bear root early in spring becomes crystal clear - and it has nothing to do with pickles!

*Conopholis americana