Exothermic Plants

Some plants such as the voodoo lily need heat to spread smells and attract pollinating insects. Using exothermic reactions involving an enzyme (oxidase), the spadix of this flower releases heat and gets its temperature to climb up to about 43^oC. Certain indole-related compounds meant to smell like rotten meat then diffuse more efficiently from the flower to the air and reach their destined flesh-eating beetles and flies. Interestingly, the mitochondria of the voodoo lily are fully tolerant of cyanide, a poison that interferes with respiration in most plants and all animals.

References:

• Chemistry. Fourth Edition. Zumdal. Houghton-Millen 1997.
• Encyclopædia Britannica. DVD Edition. 2000.
• Tony_Moore at University of Sussex Web Page: http://www.biols.susx.ac.uk/home/Tony_Moore/
• http://www.uky.edu/~dhild/biochem/10/lect.html
• Picture from http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/courses/img/bot