Thermogenic plants

Thermogenic plants have the ability to raise their temperature above that of the surrounding air. Heat is generated in the mitochondria, as a secondary process of cellular respiration called thermogenesis. Alternative oxidase and uncoupling proteins similar to those found in mammals enable the process, which is still poorly understood.

The role of thermogenesis

Thermogenesis in plants can serve a variety of purposes, including:

• allowing a species to grow in a climate where it would not otherwise be found, or at a time of year in which it would normally be dormant. Plants which raise the ambient temperature by a significant amount may even be found growing through patches of snow.
• attracting pollinators by volatilizing scents and spreading them through the air, or by providing a habitat for insects in a cold climate. Insects attracted by the heat or scent of a thermogenic plant are encouraged to spread its pollen, aiding in reproduction.

Examples of thermogenic plants

Thermogenic plants are found in a variety of families, but Araceae in particular contains many such species. Examples from this family include the eastern skunk cabbage, the dead-horse arum, the elephant yam and Philodendron selloum, also known as elephant ear. The carrion flower (Amorphophallus titanium) also uses thermogenically created water vapor to disperse its scent - that of rotting meat - above the cold air that settles over it at night in its natural habitat in Sumatra. Certain water lilies (family Nymphaeaceae) are also thermogenic.