'Otherworldly' plant blooms for first time in decade “神秘” 植物十年來首次開花

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‘Otherworldly’ plant blooms for first time in decade “神秘” 植物十年來首次開花

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Towering over all the cacti and succulents in the Arid House, the sapphire tower, as it’s known, is an extremely rare gem.

聳立在伯明翰植物園沙漠植物溫室中的仙人掌和多肉植物之上，高山普亞鳳梨俗稱 “藍寶石塔”，乃植物界的稀世之寶。

But getting to it isn’t an easy job.

但要夠到它可不容易。

After its sudden growth spurt, it now stands at three and a half metres tall.

在經過一段快速生長後，這棵高山普亞鳳梨現在高達3.5米。

Alberto Trinco, Horticulturist
“It takes so long for the plant to gather the energy and be ready to flower, and then to create this masterpiece of a flowering. It’s rare and really exciting just to witness it. And it lasts maybe a week or two, and then it’s gone and the plant itself dies. It’s remarkable.”

阿爾貝托·特林科園藝學傢
“高山普亞鳳梨需要很長時間才能積蓄足夠的能量綻放花朵，呈現出這番鮮花盛開、艷麗如畫的景觀。這個品種開花實屬罕見，所以能親眼目睹真是令人興奮。它的花期可能會持續一兩周，然後花朵就會凋謝，植物本身也會枯萎死亡。十分神奇。”

Nectar is literally falling out of it, and in its natural habitat, it would have all the pollinators flocking to it.

花蜜都能從花朵中流出來，如果這是在它的原生棲息地，那麼聞到花蜜的各種傳粉昆蟲就都會蜂擁而至。

But there aren’t any hummingbirds in Birmingham. So, Alberto has to use a paintbrush to do the job instead.

但伯明翰沒有蜂鳥。所以阿爾貝托不得不用畫筆來完成人工授粉。

Alberto Trinco, Horticulturist
“It’s a very slow growing plant. So, it takes years to get to the final stage.”

阿爾貝托·特林科園藝學傢
“這是一種生長非常緩慢的植物。需要數年時間才能到達生命最終的花期。”

Word has spread, and visitors have been making a beeline to see it, but they won’t have very long.

這棵植物開花的消息已經傳開，遊客們紛紛趕來植物園賞花，但由於開花時間不長，賞花期有限。

Phil Mackie, AYYBLOG reporter
“So, normally it looks completely lifeless – absolutely dead. Every ten years or so it gets enough energy to flower, and in a couple of months it will completely die back again, and look as lifeless as it did to begin with.”

菲爾·麥基 AYYBLOG通訊員
“高山普亞鳳梨這種植物平時看起來無精打采，毫無生氣。但每隔十年左右，這種植物就能積蓄足夠的能量開花，短短幾個月後，它就又回到無精打采的狀態，像起初一樣毫無生命力。”

Once the flowers have faded, it will fruit, and later this year Alberto will collect the seeds.

花謝瞭後，能結出果實，今年晚些時候，阿爾貝托將收集這個植物的種子。

So, visitors will be able to see the next generation of Puya alpestris in the nursery in the future.

這樣遊客將來可以在育苗場看到下一代高山普亞鳳梨。

Alberto Trinco, Horticulturist
“It’s just so unusual and rare to see that. It doesn’t matter how many times you see it. It’s just great.”

阿爾貝托·特林科園藝學傢
“能看到它開花真的非常難得，實屬罕見。而且百看不厭，樂此不疲。”