From: Don Burns <burns at mobot.org> on 1997.12.16 at 03:15:42(1758)
The temperature is again tonight dropping into the low 50degF point and
it is very windy. Since the wind chill will probably put the effective
temperature far below 50, once again the water dwellers will spend their
night in the garage. The Uropspathas have a number of inflorescences most
of which this afternoon were exuding their characteristicly sweet
melon-like odor. Just a few hours later, the fragrance is gone. I know
this is not a response to darkness, as they were quite fragrant last
night at 11PM.
The sole other significant change that took place in the past few hours
is the temperature: It has dropped at least 12 or 13 degF. Has anyone
else observed odor changes in response temperature changes? Granted, this
is certainly no controlled experiment I have just performed, but I do
intend to check out what these guys smell like again mid-day tomorrow.
I am aware of plants whose flowers respond to light, or lack of it,
to raise the intensity of flower odors, my favorite being Brassavola
nodosa, the orchid that is pollinated by specific night flying insects.
But I have not night heard of plants with flowers that respond to
temperature.
Don
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