Hot Flowers: The Role of Floral Thermoregulation in A Warming Global Climate

Floral thermoregulation refers to the net effect of adaptive floral traits on floral temperatures, and is highly important for successful pollination. With extreme weather fluctuations set to rise with global warming, it has never been so crucial, both for biodiversity and food security, for floral thermoregulation to be understood. This review outlines several plant adaptations to regulate flower temperature, both exogenously (primarily using solar radiation) and endogenously (via metabolic heat production). Selective advantages for floral traits are discussed: Are flowers warm for the sake of initiating and enhancing plant-pollinator interactions, or is the primary function to provide optimal conditions for pollen and ovule development? The potential effects of climate change are discussed, including how temperature as a visual cue may be disrupted in the future. To ensure future food security, further research should address floral warming in crop plants, under realistic conditions, to elucidate the interactions between thermoregulatory traits, reproductive success and a variety of plant-pollinator interactions. On the other hand, further ecological research should shift from studying isolated instances of floral warming to more integrative studies encompassing a diversity of plants and pollinators.