Heat Generating Plants

The heat of a skunk cabbage melts snow around it. Photo credit

Eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) blooms in woodlands from late February to May throughout eastern Canada and the northeast United States. It is a foul smelling plant that generates heat via mitochondrial respiration. Thermogenesis is rare in plants, but it does occur in some species of angiosperm. Skunk cabbages raise their temperature above that of the surrounding air, melting snow around them.

Skunk cabbage breaking through the ice. Photo credit

Examples from this family include the eastern skunk cabbage, the dead-horse arum, the elephant yam and Philodendron selloum, also known as elephant ear.

Read more: Amusing Planet

Thanks Bruce!