你对树木所不了解的另一面(上)

Trees tend to be ignored because they don't do much—until you look closer. Then, they just get weird. From unexpected forms of communication between themselves and other forms of life to the deadly measures they take to ensure their own survival, trees can rightfully demand a whole new level of respect.

树木常因默默无闻而被人们忽略，若不是认真走近它们，我们永远也无法了解树木的神奇世界。你是否知道，树木与自然界其他生物的互动方式超乎人类想象，同时它们无时无刻不在为自己的生存而勇敢奋斗着。

Explode

10.他们会爆炸

If a military sadist that gives kindergarten names was ever allowed to design a plant, the sandbox tree would be it. Poison sits in nearly every part of the leaves, bark, and pumpkin-shaped seeds. The entire 30-meter (100 ft) trunk deters tree huggers with its closely packed thorns. And the seeds explode with such force that people and animals can easily get injured. While this is a good way for the tree to spread its seeds up to 40 meters (130 ft) away, the ejection speed is what makes it so lethal.

如果让一位军事爱好者设计一株植物，沙盒树当选无疑。沙盒树的叶子、树皮和种子的各个部分都充满毒素。密密麻麻的刺布满它30米宽的树干，这可是将破坏者拒之门外的好方法。另外，沙盒树的种子会爆炸，其威力强大到轻而易举就能使人和动物受伤。沙盒树的爆炸能帮助沙盒树将种子发射至40米远外的地方生根发芽，这也同时是它的杀伤力所在。

Clocking in at a deadly 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph), a nearby cow or human will actually get “shot” and can end up with serious wounds. If, for some inexplicable reason, a person decides to snack on the stuff, the explosive seeds can cause vomiting and diarrhea, and the tree sap is sadistically fond of ruining whatever it touches. It will bring about horrific skin rashes and blind the eyes. One thing is for sure: The sandbox tree is no indoor potted plant.

爆炸时，其种子的散播速度可达每小时240千米，一旦附近的人或牛被击中，便会身负重伤。如果不明真相的人们吃了散落的种子，会出现呕吐、腹泻的症状。沙盒树的树液也是心狠手辣的角色，若不小心接触到，人们会得皮疹甚至有双眼失明的危险。总之，有件事一定要记住：不要在室内养沙盒树。

Employ Bodyguards

9.雇佣保安的合欢树

It's kind of obvious that a tree is a lump of trunk that cannot shoo away any animals interested in a nibble. While it cannot help itself, this doesn't mean that trees are now on the free menu. They are known for hiring bodyguards, and nothing keeps a hungry herbivore away like an ant up the nose.

手无缚鸡之力的树干并不能将觊觎自己的侵犯者赶走，但这可不意味着树木是任人宰割的免费羔羊。

The acacia tree has its own militia of hostile ants which it rewards with shelter and a special food. And it's not just any old hamburger. It's laced with molecules called protease inhibitors that block a specific enzyme that bugs need to digest protein. In other words, it's a poor and dangerous meal for insects. Except for the tree's army of ants. When they eat it, it doesn't affect them in the least and is very nutritious. It's a good deal for both; one receives shelter and exclusive food they don't have to compete or search for and, in return, the ants attack anything trying to harm the tree.

合欢树有它自己的护卫队——蚂蚁，相应的，蚂蚁也可以因其护卫有功而收获树干这个庇护所和美味营养的食物。可千万别以为蚂蚁获得的美食是汉堡包哦！真相是这样的：合欢树的树干含有一种蛋白质抑制剂分子，该分子抑制了某种酶的分泌，这种酶是其他虫子消化蛋白质必须依赖的。被绕晕了没有？简单说，就是除了合欢树的蚂蚁护卫队，合欢树中所包含的抑制剂分子对其他昆虫都是危险的食物。因此，一方面，蚂蚁可以将树干作为庇护所同时享受无尽美食；另一方面，合欢树有了蚂蚁的保卫，可以轻松的打败任何前来侵犯的敌人。这真是一场愉快的双赢合作呀。

ide

8.自杀

A newly discovered palm tree must kill itself in order to procreate. These trees spend so much energy in order to attract pollinators that they have no sustenance left, and they die soon after bearing fruit. Cashew farmers accidentally discovered this oddity in Madagascar's Analalava district and were dumbstruck by its mammoth dimensions. The 18-meter-high (58.5 ft) trunk adorned with sweeping 5-meter-wide (16 ft) leaves forms a pyramid-shaped plant so immense that it can be seen from space.

一项最新发现，棕榈树为了生殖很可能杀了它自己。这些树为了吸引授粉，将消耗能量消耗殆尽，以致于没有留下任何食物，并在结了果实之后很快死去。腰果的农民在马达加斯加的阿纳拉拉瓦区偶然发现这一怪异现象，他们被棕榈树的巨大尺寸吓得目瞪口呆。这棵高达18米（58.5尺）的树干被5米宽的叶子装饰成一个金字塔形状，它是如此巨大，以致于从很远的地方就能看见它。

Flowering is the point of no return for this rare giant. Hundreds of tiny blooms adorn the stem tip when it begins its fatal cycle, and these blooms contain copious amounts of nectar that are highly successful in attracting the desired birds and insects. Each and every flower can be fertilized, which is perhaps why the palm doesn't survive the mass fruiting. It literally gives up the nutrients it needs to survive in order to create the next generation. This certainly boosts Madagascar's weird wilderness factor.

这株稀世植物开花之时，也预示着它生命的终结。当它开始命中注定的循环时，成千上百的花朵装饰了茎尖，这些花朵包含了大量丰富的花蜜，成功地吸引到了饥渴的鸟儿和昆虫。每一朵花都能受精，这可能就是为什么这颗棕榈树不能在大规模的结果中存活下来的原因。照字面来说，为了创造下一代，它放弃了它需要用来存活的营养物质。毫无疑问，它推动了马达加斯加怪异的荒野因素。

Touch Immortality

7.他们触到了不朽

Trees are some of the oldest living organisms on the planet. Left in optimal conditions, there seems to be no limit on how old they'll become. There is a spruce alive in Sweden today (pictured above) that was a seedling at the end of the last ice age. This traditional “Christmas tree” is at first glance a disappointing sight, considering that it's 9,550 years old. Discovered in 2004, the Norway spruce looks like a normal young tree about 4 meters (13 ft) tall, but the secret to its longevity lies in its ability to clone itself. Whenever its trunk dies, a new one grows from the roots which are the truly ancient parts of the tree.

树是星球上最古老的生物之一。在最佳条件下，它们的寿命会不受限制地持续下去。有一颗存活在现今的瑞典的云杉（如上图），它曾经是最后一个冰河世纪末端的一颗小树苗。考虑到它已经有9550岁了，这颗传统的“圣诞树”第一眼看起来颇有一幅令人失望的景象。挪威云杉在2004年被发现的时候，看起来像一颗正常的年轻的树，它大概4米（13尺）高，但是它长寿的秘密在于它克隆自己的能力。无论何时它的躯干死了，都能有一个新的躯干从这棵树真正古老的部分——树根里长出来。

Mount Etna in Sicily is home to the oldest chestnut tree in the world, an old-timer possibly 4,000 years old and certified Guinness World Record holder for the largest girth at 58 meters (190 ft) in circumference. Some bristlecone pines from California's White Mountains have been watching the world go by for up to 5,000 years and are still going strong. With this incredible time-defying ability, it's tragic to note that trees in cities average a lifespan of about 13 years.

西西里岛的埃特纳火山是世界上最古老的栗树的家乡，这颗栗树前辈可能有4000岁并且被吉尼斯世界纪录持有人认证它拥有最大的周长，一圈有58米（19尺）长。一些加利福尼亚州的怀特山狐尾松已经看了将近5000年的世界经历，现在仍旧坚强地活下去。因为世界上有这种不臣服于时间的植物存在，所以城市里的树木短短13年的寿命难免会使我们觉得悲伤。

Their Own Fertilizer

6.自体供肥

Researchers have discovered a new ability in trees that have been chopped down. Somehow, the remaining stump draws nitrogen from the air and fertilizes the area around itself with this powerful nutrient for plants. Tropical forest trees are apparently quite good at this. After being logged, they also capture carbon from the atmosphere which allows them a better chance at recovery. Nor are the trees stingy. The nutrients are released into the immediate area which allows nearby plant life to also benefit from the captured plant food. This ability to draw nitrogen from the air is something trees can switch on or off depending on the plant's needs, but only certain species can do it. During the early stages of forest regrowth, the difference in recovery between those that can and those that can't is markedly different. Tree species that lack this ability put on carbon weight up to nine times slower than their nutrient-fishing cousins.

科学家们发现，被砍倒的大树有一项新奇的本领。树桩的残余部分从大气和周围的肥料中努力吸取氮元素来满足自身需求，热带植物在这方面显得尤其擅长。在被砍伐之后，它们为了争取生存，会不断地从大气中吸取二氧化碳。植物们并非吝啬小气之徒，它们所吸收的营养成分会渗入自身周围，进而使周围的植物也能从中得益，享受到断木的给予。植物从空气中吸收氮的这种能力会随着其对营养元素的需求发生或增或减的变化，但这种变化只有少数植物能够实现。在植物再生长的早期阶段，自身免疫和吸收营养的能力能把植物之间明显得区分开来。那些缺乏吸碳能力的植物会比其他植物吸碳慢九倍。

翻译:哈利小王子 来源:前十网