Botanists are not completely sure why thermogenic plants generate large amounts of excess heat, but most agree that it has something to do with increasing pollination rates.
The most widely accepted theory states that the endogenous heat helps in spreading chemicals that attract pollinators to the plant.
Examples from this family include the dead-horse arum (Helicodiceros muscivorus), the eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), the elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius), elephant ear (Philodendron selloum), lords-and-ladies (Arum maculatum), and voodoo lily (Typhonium venosum).
The titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) uses thermogenically created water vapor to disperse its scent—that of rotting meat—above the cold air that settles over it at night in its natural habitat.
Contrary to popular belief, the western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus), a close relative from the family Araceae, is not thermogenic.
[8] Many endothermic plant species rely on alternative oxidase (AOX), which is an enzyme in the mitochondria organelle and is a part of the electron transport chain.