Hot Plants

A recent article in Discover magazine (June 2000) discusses thermoregulation and plants. Thermoregulation is the process by which organisms maintain a body temperature. Usually one only thinks of animals as have a body temperature, but Marion Preest, professor of biology at Claremont College says otherwise. By controlling the amount of light absorbed, plants can control their body temperatures. This control comes from their color, body size, orientation, and hairiness. Some plants, such as the skunk cabbage, are able to raise their body temperature to 114F. Plants may need to raise their body temperatures in order to protect themselves from the cold, attract pollinators, and spread their scent. However, most plants are not able to control their body temperature. Rather, they have methods of protecting themselves from extreme environmental temperatures by simply entering a period of dormancy. In case of trees, this dormancy is apparent when they loose all of their leaves in the fall and winter.