This Desert Plant in Death Valley Can Air-Condition Its Own Leaves

Tidestromia oblongifolia, a flowering plant native to Death Valley, cools its leaves up to 13°C below surrounding air temperature, allowing it to survive extreme heat near the upper thermal limit for complex life (60°C/140°F), a mechanism driven by three genetic regions identified through genome-wide analysis.

This is a preprint study; the mechanism involves mitochondria-chloroplast interaction, but clinical or agricultural applications remain speculative.