be a flower, but it is really a modified leaf that serves to protect the spadix. The spadix is divided into three sections: fertile male flowers at the tip, sterile male flowers at the center, and fertile female flowers toward the end of the flower chamber. The sterile male flowers in the midsection serve to prevent self-fertilization and to produce heat. Pollination is done by a Cyclocephala beetle species. The sterile male flowers produce and maintain a constant temperature that is 34 °C (93.2F) above that of the environment during the two days the entire flower structure is open by burning stored fatty tissue - comparable to the metabolic output of a small cat. T. bipinnatifidum metabolizes fat, instead of carbohydrate, to fuel this process. This feature indicates a possible evolutionary convergence where this plant species and animal species derived similar mechanisms to utilize fat reserves for energy consumption. The main reason for raising and maintaining the flower’s temperature is for volatilizing and dispersing insect attracting odors. The constant high heat production increases the distance that the scent can be picked up by the beetle, and increases the probability of pollination. Additionally, the heat creates a hospitable climate that helps to stimulate beetle activity once it is inside the flower and induce them to mate (this being a favorable temperature for them to do so). This will also increase the probability of pollination as they linger inside it. Taxonomy Heinrich Wilhelm Schott (1794–1865), one of the earliest botanists who studied the family Araceae, made extensive studies of philodendrons. The names Philodendron bipinnatifidum and Philodendron selloanum were accepted as two separate species in the past. However, recent studies focused on the sexual characteristics suggest that they are multiform of the same species. Botanist Simon Mayo documented that these were names of the same plant species that exhibited slight anatomical differences. Since the name Philodendron bipinnatifidum was the first of the two to be published in the literatures, it was accepted as the scientific name. P. bipinnatifidum was placed in subgenus Meconostigma. In 2018 it was proposed that this subgenus be recognized as a separate genus, Thaumatophyllum. This change has been accepted by taxonomic databases such as the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families and Plants of the World Online in 2019. Cultivation T. bipinnatifidum is cultivated as a landscape plant in many tropical, subtropical and warm temperate countries including the Philippines,