一種巨型鮮花（巨型海芋）發(fā)出一股奇怪的腐尸氣味,，目的就是為了吸引一些食肉性昆蟲前來幫它傳授花粉。那么它們是如何做到這一點的呢,？德國波恩大學(xué)的科學(xué)家無意中拍下的電視錄像揭示了這一秘密,。
拍攝錄像的德國波恩大學(xué)的威廉·巴斯洛特說：“影片攝制組使用非常強大的背景光拍攝，我們突然看到一股煙從此花的中心柱上升起,。我們認(rèn)為此花著火了,。”然而，這一縷縷極有規(guī)律的煙突然間變成了蒸氣,，攜帶一股腐尸氣味撲面而來,。
科學(xué)家感到納悶：為何此花一會兒像死驢子一樣難聞，一會兒幾乎就沒有什么味道了,。
在這一景象的啟發(fā)下,，巴斯洛特和他的小組假設(shè)此腐尸味鮮花利用熱量將熱臭氣抽到了夜空中。于是,，他們用紅外攝像機拍下了三朵巨型海芋的影像,，果然發(fā)現(xiàn)一股股熱量沿花而上,，到達花尖時溫度高達36攝氏度，以便讓蒸汽釋放出來,。那么它為什么不把蒸汽一次性釋放出來呢,？這是因為它在釋放蒸汽的同時需要把體內(nèi)的大部分能量蓄積起來為噴射做準(zhǔn)備，而這種噴射和它高生長都需要巨大能耗,，這正好可以解釋此花為何只能開兩個晚上,。但兩個晚上有足夠時間來吸引昆蟲。此研究發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)表在最新出版的《植物生物學(xué)》（Plant Biology）雜志上,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Plant Biology DOI：0.1111/j.1438-8677.2008.00147.x
A torch in the rain forest: thermogenesis of the Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum)
W. Barthlott 1,4 , J. Szarzynski 2,3 , P. Vlek 3 , W. Lobin 4 & N. Korotkova 1
1 Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants, Bonn, Germany
2 UN-SPIDER Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)/German Aerospace Center (DLR) UN Campus, Bonn, Germany
3 Center for Development Research (ZEF), Division of Ecology and Natural Resources, Bonn, Germany
4 Botanical Gardens of the University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Correspondence to W. Barthlott, Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants, Meckenheimer Allee 170, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
An outstanding flagship species in the plant kingdom is the Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), which produces a fountain-like bloom up to 3 m high. The unique appearance of three simultaneous inflorescences in May 2006 was a chance to analyse the flowering behaviour and thermogenesis of this giant. For the first time, the heating of the central column (spadix) could be documented using a high-performance thermographic camera. Time series analyses of the infrared image sequences revealed that the 3-m high spadix surface heats up in pulses emanating from the base of the inflorescence. The surface temperature reaches over 36 °C, compared to the ambient temperature of 27 °C. Waves of the carrion-like odour are synchronised with these heat pulses. The combination of heat pulses, the fountain-like shape plus the enormous size lead to a unique type of 'convection flower'. On the basis of our observations, we assume that Amorphophallus titanum is able to overcome thermodynamic decoupling by a self-produced convective process.
