Dense Covering Protects From Cold

Biological Strategy

AskNature Team

Protect From Temperature

Many living systems function best within specific temperature ranges. Temperatures higher or lower than that range can negatively impact a living system’s physiological or chemical processes, and damage its exterior or interior. Living systems must manage high or low temperatures using minimal energy, which often requires controlling responses along incremental temperature changes. To do so, living systems use a variety of strategies, such as avoiding high or low temperatures, removing excess heat, and holding heat in. Insulation is a well-known example of managing low temperatures by retaining heat using thick layers of hair, fur, or feathers to hold warm air next to the skin.

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Flowering Plants

Clade Angiosperms (“receptacle seed”): Dandelions, oaks, grasses, cacti, apples

With 416 families containing some 300,000 known species, angiosperms are the most diverse group of plants, and they can be found around the globe in a wide variety of habitats. They are characterized by seeds that grow enclosed in ovaries, which are enclosed in flowers. The floral organs then develop into fruits of myriad kinds and dimensions, from simple seed casings on maples to elaborate fleshy growths like papayas. The oldest flower known from fossils, Montsechia vidalii, appeared during the Jurassic Period 130 million years ago. They are the primary food source for herbivorous animals, which in turn makes them the indirect food source for carnivores as well.

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Flowers of snow lotus plants protect from the cold via thick, furry insulation.

Image: Berger Harald / Wikipedia /

Image: Prateek / Wikipedia /

“A Himalayan plant, saussurea, has taken this kind of thermal lagging to extremes. In some species it is difficult to distinguish the leaves within the mound of fur with which they surround themselves. There is a hole in the top which allows pollinating bees to enter and reach the flowers. Inside it is so snug that the insects often overnight there.” (Attenborough 1995:255)