WAMU 88.5 : Metro Connection

Filed Under:

Primitive, Striking and Smelly: Cozying Up With the Skunk Cabbage

By: Sabri Ben-Achour // March 25, 2011
  
Play associated audio
comments
Skunk cabbage flowers generate their own heat using an oxygen burning process very similar to that used by animals. The heat in these flowers can reach 70 degrees in the dead of winter, melting the snow around it and attracting beetles and other pollinators.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoopmon/3385830049
Skunk cabbage flowers generate their own heat using an oxygen burning process very similar to that used by animals. The heat in these flowers can reach 70 degrees in the dead of winter, melting the snow around it and attracting beetles and other pollinators.

Coming out to play is what spring is all about, and in the local plant world, one of the first things to emerge come spring is the smelly "skunk cabbage." It simulates death to pollinate itself and can even melt the snow around it! Environmental reporter Sabri Ben-Achour takes a walk to find out this primitive plant's secret.

[Music: "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave (As Made Famous by Martha and the Vandellas) (Karaoke Version)" by Party Tyme Karaoke from Karaoke/Party Tyme Karaoke: Oldies 1]

Arts & Culture

NPR

Brooks: 'I'm An EGOT; I Don't Need Any More'

The screenwriter, producer, director and actor, whose name has become synonymous with American comedy, talks about his penchant for spoofs and his decades-long friendship with Carl Reiner. Brooks is the subject of a new American Masters documentary on PBS.

Food

NPR

Washington State Butcher Spikes Pig Feed With Weed

Despite its name, the "pot pig" experiment isn't an attempt to develop a new meaty treat for stoners. Instead, a Seattle butcher is feeding marijuana seeds, stems and root bulbs to swine as a cheeky money-saving measure.

Politics

NPR

Texas Medicaid Debate Complicated By Politics And Poverty

In Texas, it may be politically unwise to cross the governor, but some politicians and advocates in the poor Rio Grande Valley are starting to speak out in support of expanding Medicaid. Governor Perry opposes all parts of Obamacare.

Technology

NPR

Tweets Capture 'Shock And Awe' At Tornado's Deadly Power

Twitter captures firsthand accounts and reaction from the massive tornado that swept through central Oklahoma.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.