What plant has a metabolic rate as high as a hummingbird’s, generates enough heat to melt its way through the snow, and has the ability to regulate its body temperature just like a warm-blooded animal? Here’s a hint: they look like cabbages and smell like skunks, which attracts early spring pollinators. Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences Nathaniel T. Wheelwright, presents this latest Nature Moments video.

If you want to make your own natural history observations, The Naturalist’s Notebook (Storey Publishing, 2017) by Wheelwright and Research Associate in Biology Bernd Heinrich, provides guidance and a systematic format, with 100 percent of royalties going to conservation and environmental education.

Check out more Nature Moments.