万物简史 第508期:丰富多彩的生命(4)

 When Emerson poetically¹ noted² that mosses⁴ favor the north sides of trees ("The moss³ upon the forest bark, was pole-star when the night was dark") 当埃默森富有诗意地谈到苔藓喜欢生长在树木的北侧的时候（“在漆黑的夜晚，树干上的苔藓就是北斗星”），

he really meant lichens⁵, for in the nineteenth century mosses and lichens weren't distinguished⁶. 他指的其实是地衣，因为苔藓和地衣在19世纪是不分的。

True mosses aren't actually fussy⁷ about where they grow, so they are no good as natural compasses. 真正的苔藓实际上对生长的地方并不挑剔，因此它们不能充当天然的指北针。

In fact, mosses aren't actually much good for anything. 实际上，苔藓什么也充当不了。

"Perhaps no great group of plants has so few uses, commercial or economic, as the mosses," wrote Henry S. Conard, “也许哪一大群植物也不像苔藓那样几乎毫无用处，无论在商业上还是在经济上。”亨利·S·科纳德写道。

perhaps just a touch sadly, in How to Know the Mosses and Liverworts, 这话是在《怎么识别苔藓和叶苔》一书中说的，里面不无心酸的味道。

published in 1956 and still to be found on many library shelves as almost the only attempt to popularize the subject. 该书于1956年出版，现在许多图书馆的书架上仍找得到，几乎是试图普及这个课题的惟一作品。

They are, however, prolific⁸. 然而，苔藓是一种繁殖力很强的植物。

Even with lichens removed, bryophytes is a busy realm, with over ten thousand species contained within some seven hundred genera. 即使不算地衣，苔藓仍是个兴旺的王国，大约有700个属，1万多个种。

The plump and stately Moss Flora⁹ of Britain and Ireland by A. J. E. Smith runs to seven hundred pages, A.J.E.史密斯写的那本厚厚的《英国和爱尔兰的苔藓群》长达700页，

and Britain and Ireland are by no means outstandingly mossy places. 但英国和爱尔兰绝不是突出的苔藓之乡。

"The tropics are where you find the variety," Len Ellis told me. “到了热带你才会知道苔藓之繁多。”莱恩·埃利斯对我说。

A quiet, spare man, he has been at the Natural History Museum for twenty-seven years and curator of the department since 1990. 他是个文静而话语不多的入，在自然史博物馆已经干了27年，从l990年以来一直担任这个部门的主任。”

"You can go out into a place like the rain forests of Malaysia and find new varieties with relative ease. 要是你去比如马来西亚的雨林，你很容易发现新的物种。

I did that myself not long ago. 不久以前我自己也去过。

I looked down and there was a species that had never been recorded." 我往下一看，就看到一个从来没有记录的物种。

So we don't know how many species are still to be discovered? “因此，我们不知道还有多少个物种没有被发现？”

Oh, no. No idea. “哦，没错儿。大家都心里没有数。”

 

1 poetically   

adv.有诗意地，用韵文

参考例句：

• Life is poetically compared to the morning dew. 在诗歌中，人生被比喻为朝露。 来自辞典例句
• Poetically, Midsummer's Eve begins in flowers and ends in fire. 仲夏节是富有诗意的节日，它以鲜花领航，在篝火旁完美落幕。 来自互联网

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

4 mosses   

n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。

5 lichens   

n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。 来自辞典例句
• Litmus: Mixture of coloured organic compounds obtained from several species of lichens. 石蕊：从几种地衣类植物中获取的带色有机化合物的混合物。 来自互联网

6 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

7 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

8 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

9 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。