Keeping Cool.

EVAPORATIVE cooling; LEAF temperature; SENSITIVE plant; GENITALIA

The article discusses the unique ability of the clustered carline thistle, a plant found in Southern Spain, to refrigerate itself and withstand extreme heat. The thistle is able to flower and attract pollinators even during the arid Mediterranean summers when other plants wither and die. The discovery was made by Carlos M. Herrera, an evolutionary ecologist, who found that the temperature inside the thistle flower heads was consistently cooler than the surrounding air. This self-cooling mechanism is believed to be a survival strategy that involves sacrificing water to prevent the plant's reproductive organs from overheating. The findings are significant in understanding how plants adapt to heat stress, especially as heat waves become more frequent due to climate change. [Extracted from the article]