第74课 蒲公英

　　All through the summer, and during spring and autumn as well, our meadows and waste places are thickly dotted with the bright-yellow flowers of the common weed called the dandelion. And even throughout the winter the leaves of this hardy plant remain green. Let us dig up a dandelion, root and all, and examine it; for though it is only a weed, we can learn from it many things about the life of plants.

　　无论是春天、夏天还是秋天, 草地和荒原上总是铺满了一层明黄色的小花, 这种开着黄花的植物就是蒲公英。就算是到了冬季, 这种顽强植物的叶子依旧绿意盎然。让我们连根拔起一株蒲公英, 仔细观察。虽然它只是一种野草, 但我们还是可以从中了解到植物生活的许多细节。

　　The root is long, thick, and tapering, and it has many small fibres or rootlets growing from its sides and from the end. The root of a plant, as you already know, fixes the plant in the ground, and its fibres suck in food for the plant out of the soil. But the root of the dandelion does more than this: it stores up in its thick part much food for the use of the plant, to help it in producing its flowers and seeds.

　　蒲公英的根呈锥形, 又长又粗, 两侧与末端生长出很多细小的纤维或细根。你已经知道, 植物的根能将植物固定在土地中, 而根须则负责从土壤中吸收营养。然而, 蒲公英的根却具备跟多功能：肥厚的根部能够储存食物, 以供自身消耗, 从而生长出花朵与种子。

　　The dandelion has no long stem or trunk, but from the top of the root a number of green leaves spread out and form a rosette. These leaves have broad points and very jagged edges. The side of each leaf looks a little like the jaw of a lion, and our name dandelion comes from the French name of this plant, which means "lion's tooth. "

　　蒲公英没有长长的茎干, 不过在根的顶部却生长出一些向外扩散的绿叶, 从而形成莲座丛。这些叶子顶端较宽, 边缘则呈锯齿状。从侧面来看, 每一片叶子都好像狮子的下腭, 蒲公英的名字正是从这种植物的法语名称而来, 意思就是“狮子的牙齿”。

　　These curious leaves are not flat. Their edges curve upwards, so that each leaf forms an open water-pipe. When rain falls, the leaves carry the refreshing water to the centre of the rosette, and pour it down among the roots. If you look at other plants, you will find many of them with leaves that gather the rain-water in this way and carry it to the roots.

　　这些形状奇特的叶子并不是扁平形状。它们的边缘向上弯曲, 于是, 每一片叶子实际上就成了一个没有封闭的水管。下雨时, 叶子就会将清新的雨水送到玫瑰结的中间, 然后再注入根里。观察其他植物, 就会发现, 很多植物也都长有此类叶子, 并且通过这种方法把水分送到根部。