Five Fascinating Facts you should know including Thermogenesis - Skunk Cabbage melts snow and ice

Opis:
Eastern Skunk Cabbage is the first spring woodland wildflowers to emerge each year in temperate North American forests. The plant has the rare property of producing its on heat sometimes up to 35 C or 63 F degrees above ambient temperature! It literally can melt its way through snow and ice! All parts of the plant smell like a skunk or fetid flesh (see scientific name Symplocarpus foetidus ) The heat of the flower helps spread its odor and attracted flies for pollination. Its common name refers to its range on the eastern part of USA, Skunk referring to its odor and Cabbage referring to its great size later in the spring. The flower attracts pollinating flesh flies, other insects seeking a warm place, and even spiders taking advantage of the insect traffic in and out of flower. This flower has two main parts including the spathe and spadix. Petal-less flowers are located on the spadix. Plants will live decades and the the rhizome gets larger and deeper in soil each year. Preferring swampy soil at the end of each growing season its roots contract and pull it deeper into the soil. Filmed in Floyd County, Virginia.