Hellebores keeping warm

Back to back snowstorms have my garden buried this week. But as soon as the snow disappears early next month, I should see the first snowdrops and Hellebores pushing up. How, you ask, can plants like Helleborus foetidus (the stinking Hellebore, pictured) bloom in the cold?  According to a tiny article in the May 2010 issue of Smithsonian magazine, scientists with the Spanish Research Council discovered that "strains of yeast living in the flowers' nectar warm the flowers up to 13 degrees Fahrenheit by metabolizing  sugars." In other words, the yeast lets the flowers bloom in low temps and little sun. The researchers call it a "novel mechanism whereby flowers can raise their temperatures." Novel indeed. Hope you have your own novel way to keep warm during this current cold spell!

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

My way is not novel, hot tea, wool socks and a sweater. Then if I go outside...

[Altoon]

That is a fascinating bit of knowledge, Linda. We didn't get as fierce a storm as you did, but shoveling gets the blood moving. I'm also happy to have a woodstove to stand alongside, warming various body parts.

[Janet/Plantaliscious]

How fascinating! Fermenting to flower?!

[Mr. McGregor's Daughter]

Plants are so fascinating. I did not know this about blooms. Really neat.