Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Identification of Novel Regulators of Plant Transpiration by Large-Scale Thermal Imaging Screening in Helianthus Annuus
Published on: January 30, 2020
Endothermy by flowers of Rhizanthes lowii (Rafflesiaceae)
S Patiño1, J Grace1, H Bänziger2
1Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, The University of Edinburgh, Darwin Building, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JU, UK e-mail: spatino@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk Fax: +44-131-6505437, , , , , , GB.
Abstract:
Rhizanthes lowii (Beccari) Harms (Rafflesia- ceae) is a parasitic plant that grows in the understory of the rainforest in South-East Asia. This plant does not have leaves, stems, or photosynthetic tissue and is characterised by the emission of a strong odour that attracts the natural pollinators, carrion flies. Flowers that volatilise odorous compounds and attract carrion flies, beetles and other insects are often thermogenic. Here we present evidence of both thermogenesis and thermoregulation in R. lowii from microclimate and tissue temperatures measured during different stages of flower development in R. lowii, in natural conditions in Brunei, Borneo. Endothermy was detected in young and mature buds as well as in blooming flowers and even in decaying tissues 3 or more days after blooming. Tissue temperatures were maintained at 7-9 K above air temperature, in both female and male flowers, at all stages of floral development.
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
Pollination and Flower Structure
Morphogenesis
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Thermoregulation
Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

