April 29th, 2019 : Hot Stinker

[xoxoxoBruce]

Spring has sprung
The grass has riz
You know what the rest is

Spring is basically when outdoors wakes up from a nap in the south, and a coma in the north.
But Mommy Nature doesn’t give a crap about your calendar, she’s grooving to her own drummer.
So sometimes weird things happen and the plants that are awake and stirring get snowed on.
Things like crocuses can handle it, other stuff gets clobbered and may lose a whole season.
I’ve noticed stinkmaster Skunk Cabbage cares not a whit. I always figured it was just tough as nails.
But more than that it not only is resistant to ice and snow, it will grow right up through it.

The skunk cabbage is one of the first plants to emerge in the spring when the winter snow is yet to melt. As the plant pokes its head out of the snow and starts flowering, it forms a small pool of water around it, created by snow melt. The heat needed to melt the snow is derived not from the sun but generated by the plant itself. Skunk cabbage is one of the few species in the Plant Kingdom, belonging to ancient lineages of flowering plants, that has the rare ability to generate heat — a phenomenon known as thermogenesis.

Thermogenic plants are found in a variety of families, but Araceae in particular contains many such species. Skunk cabbage, the dead-horse arum, the elephant yam and Philodendron selloum, are a few examples of thermogenic plants belonging to the Araceae family. These plants can generate significant amounts of heat that even mammals can’t, and their rate of heat production actually increases the colder the environment gets.
In an experiment, skunk cabbages were found to maintain flower temperature 9°C higher when the air temperature was at 15°C(59F). When the air temperature was dropped to –15°C(5F), the flower was still at 15°C(59F), or 30°C higher than the air temperature.

The Asian sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) can also regulate its flower temperature. Measurements showed that flower temperatures stayed at a warm 30°C(86F) to 36°C(97F) even when environmental temperatures dropped as low as 10°C(50F). Another species Philodendron selloum is even better at temperature regulation. In lab tests, the flowers managed to stay between 30°C(86F) and 36°C(97F) even when scientists chilled the air to 4°C(39F).
The dead horse arum(a lily) (Helicodiceros muscivorus), another obnoxious smelling plant, reportedly produces more heat than any other known plant or animal considered in its entirety.

Biologists believe thermogenic plants generate heat to assist in pollination. The heat renders the flower’s fragrance more volatile which helps the scent to spread more widely so that pollinating insects can find them from far away. The dead horse arum, which smells like rotten meat, uses heat not only to attract flies and beetles but also to convince them that it’s a dead carcass. The heat also makes the thermogenic plants attractive to insects seeking warmth and comfort.
But a flower that offers pollinators just a sip of nectar or a snack of pollen and then sends them on their way has a better chance of dispersing its pollens than a flower that traps insects for a whole night by its hospitality. This is why thermogenesis is not commonly seen among plants. During evolution these heat generating species died out and were replaced by plants having better pollination methods.

link

[Clodfobble]

In an experiment, skunk cabbages were found to maintain flower temperature 9°C(48F) higher when the air temperature was at 15°C(59F) When the air temperature was dropped to –15°C(5F), the flower was still at 15°C(59F), or 30°C higher than the air temperature.

This was throwing me for a loop until I realized they've got a math error there... Actual 9°C correlates to actual 48°F, but they're talking about a quantity of 9 degrees, which is roughly a quantity of 16 degrees in Fahrenheit. The plant didn't maintain a temp of 107°F when the air was 59°F, it maintained a temp of 75°F (59 outside plus the 16 increase,) aka 24°C (15 outside plus the 9 increase.)

[xoxoxoBruce]

That's my fault, just before I posted it I went back and put in the F conversions. At that point I changed the meaning by doing that.
When the air dropped 30 degrees from +15C to -15C, the flower only dropped 9C.

[Clodfobble]

Still, that's a hot little cabbage plant. No wonder it's a worldwide staple.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Staple? People eat that stuff?

[Gravdigr]

I'm not sure one can/would want to eat skunk cabbage.

[fargon]

According to my Dads friend Rufus, Skunk Cabbage is the first thing the Bears eat in the spring.

[xoxoxoBruce]

That's probably because it's the first thing up in the spring, but I've never heard anyone say, I'm so hungry I could eat Skunk Cabbage.

[fargon]

Do have many conversations with Bears?

[xoxoxoBruce]

No, none.

...but I've never heard anyone say, I'm so hungry I could eat Skunk Cabbage.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

I'm not sure one can/would want to eat skunk cabbage.

By "one" I meant people. Humans. Like the person posting about it being eaten...

[fargon]

Bears are People too.

[Undertoad]

My old roommate from college did some Bear gay porn.

[Diaphone Jim]

"Skunk cabbage was used extensively as a medicinal plant, seasoning, and magical talisman by various tribes of Native Americans. While not considered edible raw, because the roots are toxic and the leaves can burn the mouth, the leaves may be dried and used in soups and stews."

Wikipedia