我正探索奇妙的植物世界 I'm exploring the fascinating world of plants,
从最古怪到最美丽 from the most bizarre to the most beautiful.
我会利用现今最新科技 I will be using today's latest technology
揭开植物生活的全新一面 to reveal a whole new dimension in the lives of plants.
我会追踪它们在陆上的始源 I'll trace them from their beginnings on land
以至现在于大自然的重要地位 to their vital place in nature today...
并且发掘我们常常 ..and discover a hidden world
视而不见的隐秘世界 that, only too often, we overlook.
我们会以植物的时间尺度 We'll move from our time scale to theirs.
探索一些植物 We will explore the extraordinary ways
在恶劣环境下求存的绝招 by which some plants survive in the harshest conditions.
全部都在一个独特地方拍摄 And we will do all this in one unique place,
那儿是整个植物界的缩影 a microcosm of the whole plant world,
在裘园的英国皇家植物园 the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew.
大卫爱登堡的植物王国 记录片之家倾情奉献 http://www.jlpzj.net/ 听译&时间轴：样子@纪录片之家 后期翻译修饰：laurafygi
我见过植物在各处的自然生境成长 I've seen plants growing in their natural habitats all over the world.
但在裘园 But here in Kew,
可用在野外用不到的方法 去观察它们 it's possible to examine them in a way that is impossible in the wild.
九成已知的植物品种 Here, some 90% of all known plant species
都以某种形式展现于此 are represented in one form or another.
所以在这儿 就可研究整个植物界 So, in this one place, you can survey the entire plant kingdom,
不仅如此 我们使用3D摄像机 and what is more, using 3D cameras,
揭示出其最隐秘的奥妙 reveal some of its most intimate secrets.
湿区裹的生命 记录片之家倾情奉献 http://www.jlpzj.net/ 听译&时间轴：样子@纪录片之家 后期翻译修饰：laurafygi
植物生长得最茂盛之处 Plants flourish most dramatically
莫如是在温暖潮湿的 in places where there is a lot of warmth and a lot of water -
湿区 the wet zone.
在此可了解植物最初如何扎根陆上 So here we can discover how plants first established themselves on land
成为所有陆地生物的基础 to become the very foundation of all terrestrial life.
雨林仅占有 Rainforests occupy only about
世上陆地面积的2% 2% of the world's land surface,
但却包含了全球半数物种 but they contain over 50% of the world's species.
多数湿区植物 And many of these wet zone plants
都有非凡的生存策略 have extraordinary survival strategies.
为研究它们,裘园在泰晤士河畔 And to study them, Kew has built a rainforest
建造了雨林 here on the banks of Thames.
这雨林很特别 This is a rainforest like no other.
棕榈室于1844年建成 The Palm House was constructed in 1844
用了超过200吨铁 和16000块玻璃 from over 200 tons of iron and 16,000 panes of glass.
这种规模的温室在当时前所未见 No one had ever built a glass house on this scale before
为此建筑师要借助 and to do so, the architects borrowed techniques
造船技术 from the ship building industry,
这可以说明棕榈室 which may explain why the Palm House
为何看来像翻转的船身 looks like the upturned hull of a ship.
建造这儿是为了安放热带植物 Its purpose was to provide a home for the tropical plants
那是维多利亚时代的探险家 that Victorian explorers brought back
到热带地区探险后带回的 from their adventures in the tropics.
这温室是那年代的工程奇蹟 It was an engineering wonder of the age.
现在仍然是植物学奇蹟 And it is still a botanical wonder.
在温室这端的植物大都 Most of the plants at this end of the house
种在盆裹 are kept in pots
一如在维多利亚时代 as they would have been in Victorian times.
这盆几乎肯定是 And this is almost certainly
世上最古老的盆栽 the oldest pot plant in the world.
这是欧登斯大头苏铁 This is Encephalartos altensteinii.
1775年运来 and it came here in 1775.
其他湿区植物自此陆续加入 Altensteinii has since been joined by a multitude of other wet zone plants.
共同建构出独特的全球性雨林 Together they constitute a unique global rainforest,
一个鲜活实验室 a living laboratory
我们可在这观察雨林植物 where we can watch and observe the fascinating ways
奇妙的互动和行为 in which rainforest plants interact and behave.
温室环境对湿区植物来说 几近完美 Conditions in this glass house are near perfect for wet zone plants.
温暖 潮湿 光线充足 It's warm, it's humid, there's plenty of light,
因此植物全年都生长迅速 and as a consequence, plants grow very rapidly and all through the year.
若把时间调快,植物会展露真本色 If you speed up time, plants begin to reveal their true nature.
它们不是你想像中的被动生物 They are not passive organisms as you might think,
却是跟动物一样进取的好胜生物 but competitive creatures, every bit is aggressive as animals,
它们要进行光线与空间的困兽斗 locked in a desperate battle for light and space.
为占据有利位置而伸展和律动 They stretch and pulse as they strive to barge their way into poll position.
攀缘植物和藤蔓到处伸延 Creepers and vines reach around
寻找别的植物上可依靠的枝干 for the branch or the stem of another plant on which to hitch a ride.
竹子这种禾本科植物可以高速生长 Bamboos, a family of giant grasses, are capable of extraordinary speeds
争夺树冠层最充沛的阳光 as they race towards the mightiest light of the top of the canopy.
它们是植物界生长速度最快的 They are the fastest growing of all plants.
有些品种可在一天内长高一米 Some species can grow a whole meter in a single day.
可长至30米高,如九层办公大楼 And at 30 meters tall, as high as a nine-storey office building,
能跟雨林最高大的树木争一日长短 they can compete with the tallest rainforest trees.
但湿区植物却不用争夺的 The one resource wet zone plants don't need to fight for
就是水 is water.
雨林的降雨很充沛 In fact, there can be so much rain in the rainforest
以至有些品种要用奇招避开它 that some species have to have special ways of getting rid of it.
这是芋 This is the taro plant
它的叶子很奇特 and it has the most extraordinary leaves.
看我在叶上倒水会怎样 What would happen when I pour water on them?
水会滚动流走,令叶子维持干爽 The water rolls, leaving the leaf behind almost dry.
全因叶上有十分微细的结构 And that's because the leaf is covered with very, very tiny microscopic structures
令水滴悬空 which hold aloft the droplets of water.
因此只有2％的水能触及叶子表面 And as a consequence, only about 2% of water touches the actual leaf surface itself.
水滴滚动流走时也带走污物和细菌 And as the droplets roll away, they carry with them the dirt and bacteria,
所以这种叶子能自我清洁 so, in effect, these leaves are self-cleaning.
但有些植物以别的方法利用水 But there are some plants that use water in a different way
它们长在高高的树冠层裹 and they leave high up in the canopy.
积水型凤梨 A tank bromeliad,
摆脱了…在泥土上生长的需要 a plant that is dispensed with the need of growing in the soil on the ground,
依附在树冠层的枝干上 and instead attaches itself to branches up here in the canopy
这儿有充足的光线 where there is plenty of light.
因这远离地面 And since it's so far from the ground,
它要以独特的方法 it has had to develop a technique of collecting its nutriment
取得养分 in a quite different way.
它们会收集 They collect some of the rain
每天降落在南美洲雨林的雨水 in everyday drenches in South American rainforest where they live.
它们宽大的叶子 Their leaves, which are very broad,
会把雨水引流至一个中央蓄水池 channel the rain water into a central reservoir.
底部的叶子紧紧互挤 At their base, the leaves are so tightly pressed together
令贮起的水不会渗漏 that the tank they create is watertight.
有些品种可贮存50升液体 Some species can hold up to 50 liters of liquid.
水不只能为植物提供水分 The water not only hydrates the plant,
还可为很多生物提供栖息处 but it also provides a home for a lot of creatures
若没有水,它们无法在这儿生存 that wouldn't otherwise be able to live up here.
这些孑孓是蚊子的幼虫 These little wriggler are the larvae of mosquitoes.
在野外的这种小水池裹 In the wild, there are lots of different creatures
可找到很多不同的生物 that can be found in these little pools.
这是网纹箭毒蛙 This is Ranitomeya imitator,
是一种来自秘鲁的箭毒蛙 a poison dart frog from Peru.
它的大小约如拇指甲 It's the size of a thumb nail
是世上唯一的一夫一妻制两栖动物 and the only monogamous amphibian in the world.
有些网纹箭毒蛙终其一生 Some individuals spend their whole lives,
从蝌蚪至成蛙,都在凤梨水池附近 tadpole to adult, in and around bromeliad pools.
在高耸的树冠层 And high in the canopy,
这种水池是它们的理想家园 such a pool provides an excellent home.
这里相对安全 It's relatively safe
也有食物供应 and there is a ready supply of food.
植物也藉此得到好处 The plant benefits from the arrangement
因住客的排泄物是养分充足的肥料 because the droppings produced by its lodger are a nutritious fertilizer.
凤梨和住在其中的青蛙 Bromeliads and the frogs that live in them
只是雨林裹复杂生物关系的一范例 are only one example of the complex relationships that are bound in the rainforests.
在热带森林里 In tropical forests,
每种生物 the lives of every living thing,
包括动物和植物,关系千丝万缕 both animal and plant, are intimately entwined.
这复杂网络已进化了千百万年 It's a tangled web that has evolved over many millions of years.
长久以来,雨林为植物提供庇护所 Throughout the history, rainforests have provided plants with a refuge
让它们避过地球上别处的恶劣环境 against harsher conditions elsewhere in the planet.
所以在雨林里 So in rainforests,
可找到古老的植物科类 you'll find some very ancient plant families.
例如这棵苏铁所属的科 This cycad, for example, belongs to a family
肯定提供过食物给恐龙 that certainly provided food for the dinosaurs.
雨林环境丰饶 But the rainforest is such a rich environment
可找到植物史上各阶段的植物 that plants of all state in their history can still be found here.
最初的是黏滑和线状的藻类 The first was slimy thread-like algae
离开河流和沼泽 that emerged from rivers and swamps
在潮湿泥泞的水边生长 to grow on the wet muddy margins.
四千多万年后 40 million years or so later,
有些进化出不透水的覆盖物 some developed watertight coverings
让它们能迁移至较干但仍算潮湿的土地 that enabled them to move on to dryer though still moist, land.
它们是地钱 They were the liverworts
还有藓类 and the mosses.
后来这些植物的某些后代的茎变硬 Later still, some of the descendants of those plants stiffened their stems,
令它们得以直立,向光源伸展 so that they were able to stand upright as they reached up towards the light.
它们就是蕨和木贼 They were the ferns and horsetails.
地球的绿化改变了生命的历程 This greening of the Earth changed the course of life,
让动物能跟从植物脱离水栖 allowing animals to follow plants out of permanent water.
植物散布在陆地上 As they spread across the land,
从叶子中释放出氧气 the plants pumped out oxygen from their leaves.
所以陆上动物从一开始就依靠植物 So from the very beginning, land animals were dependent upon plants
不只作食粮,还有呼吸的空气 not only for food, but for the very air they breathe.
植物在新环境最大的困难 A major difficulty for plants in their new environment
就是繁殖 was reproduction.
它们若要产生可繁殖的种子 If they were to produce fertile seeds,
一棵植物的花粉就要… pollen from one had to reach and fertilise the ova...
到另一棵植物,令它的卵子受精 the eggs...of another...
针叶树,如松树、紫杉和冷杉 Conifers...pines, yews and firs...
自古至今,都利用风力 then, as now, used wind.
它们会产生大量花粉粒 They produced vast numbers of pollen grains,
仅仅比尘埃粒子大 scarcely bigger than particles of dust,
让风能把它们吹送数百英里 which the wind could carry for hundreds of miles.
这一招很成功,但也很浪费 The technique was successful but very wasteful.
它们要生产大量花粉粒 Immense quantities of pollen grains had to be produced
才能有一颗命中目标 if just one was to reach its target.
但在一亿四千万年前 But then, about 140 million years ago,
有些植物发展出更有效率的方法 some developed a much more efficient way of doing that...
利用花朵 with flowers.
当中的过程一直令科学家大惑不解 How this happened was, for a long time, a total mystery to scientists,
包括一位伟大的科学家 including one of the greatest.
达尔文被这“恼人之谜”所难倒 Charles Darwin was baffled by what he called an abominable mystery.
在恐龙时代的中叶 The fact that, half way through the age of dinosaurs,
有花植物突然在短时间内 flowering plants suddenly produced a vast number of species
产生了大量品种 and within a very short period of time.
这跟达尔文提出的进化论有矛盾 That contradicted one of the characteristics of evolution as Darwin saw it;
进化的特征之一是缓慢渐进的过程 that it was a slow and gradual process.
怎会有那种事? How could that happen?
自达尔文提出这问题以来 From the moment Darwin posed the question,
科学家一直在追求答案 scientists have been striving for an answer.
近年发现的化石 Recent fossil discoveries
还有透过分析古今物种的DNA and modern DNA analysis of species present and past
改变了我们对这奇妙时期的理解 have transformed our understanding of this fascinating period.
科学家用那资料和裘园的先驱研究 Using that information, scientists with work pioneered here in Kew
建构出所有植物的家谱 have been able to construct the ancestral tree of whole of plant life.
从最简单的植物,藻类开始 It begins with algae, the simplest of the plants,
接着是藓类 which are followed by the mosses.
上升枝条的粗度 The thickness of the rising branches
显示每个组别的物种的相对数目 indicates the growth of number of species in each individual group.
在植物进化史的前半段 For the first half of the plant's evolutionary history,
各分枝的植物大致上平均繁衍 all the branches of plant life flourished roughly equally.
但在一亿四千万年前 But then, 140 million years ago,
植物品种却出现爆炸性的放射 there was an explosive radiation of species...
令达尔文不解 Darwin's mystery.
这些是被子植物,即有花植物 These were the angiosperms... flowering plants.
其进化比达尔文所想的更进一步 Their evolution was more gradual than Darwin had thought,
但毫无疑问 but there is no question
被子植物在短时间内成了主流群体 that the angiosperms quickly became the dominant group.
它们分化成种类繁多的物种 They diversified to a huge range of species
占据了世上几乎所有已知的生境 which have occupied almost every known habitat on Earth.
但是什么激发了这戏剧性的放射? But what happened to stimulate this dramatic radiation?
是由于两个巧合导致 There was a happy coincidence of two events.
第一是植物的遗传物质加倍 The first was a doubling in genetic material of plants,
令它们能在环境改变时进化得更快 allowing them to evolve more quickly when their environment changed
第二是发生了一种改变 The second was one such change...
植物和动物发展出独特的关系 the development of the unique relationship between plants and animals.
这巧合的影响 The effect of this coincidence
可在最早进化的开花植物身上看到 can be seen in one of the very first flowering plants to evolve.
这是睡莲温室 This is the Water Lily House,
是裘园最炎热和潮湿的环境 the hottest and most humid environment in Kew.
1852年建成,安放最新发现的植物 It was built in 1852 to accommodate the latest botanical discovery -
亚马逊王莲 the giant Amazon water lily.
现在是二月,池塘里空荡荡 Now, it's February and the pond is almost bare.
但几星期后各种睡莲就会发芽 But in a few weeks, exotic water lily of all kinds will be sprouting.
从化石得知,现代睡莲的祖先 The ancestors of today's water lilies, as we know from their fossils,
是最早能开花的植物之一 were among the first plants to produce flowers.
鲜艳的花瓣,改良过的叶子 Bright petals, modified leaves
对飞虫有莫大吸引力 were an advancement to flying insects.
暗示身上有营养丰富的花粉 They signal the presence of highly nutritious pollen.
花卉的形状有如原始陷阱 The shape of the flower work like a primitive trap
逼使昆虫蹒跚而行 forcing the insects to stumble about
进入植物的繁殖结构 and bumping to the flower's reproductive structures.
这样昆虫就能把之前在其他花朵 In doing so, the insects transferred onto the water lily
收集的花粉转移到这棵睡莲 pollen which they accidentally collected on earlier visits to other flowers.
现在植物能哄昆虫帮忙传播花粉 So now plants could trick insects into transporting their pollen directly
从一棵植物直接运送至另一棵 from one plant to another with a door-to-door service.
亚马逊王莲的花可完全合上 The flower of the giant Amazon water lily can close totally,
困住昆虫好几小时 holding the insects captive for several hours,
确保授粉成功 thus making absolutely sure that pollination occurs.
很多不同品种的植物仿效此法 Many different species of plant followed suit,
进化出独特的花朵 each evolving its own particular flowers
吸引昆虫当信差 to attract its insect messengers.
为吸引昆虫垂青,植物变得多元化 Competition for their services drove the plants to diversify.
昆虫喜欢较鲜艳的花瓣 Insects favored petals that were brighter,
更浓烈的香气 scent that was more perfume,
还有更香甜的花蜜 and flowers that had the sweetest nectar.
这些诱惑的出现对昆虫有深远影响 The appearance of such temptations had a huge effect on the insects.
它们也多元化起来 They too began to diversify...
不同形态的昆虫能跟… A multitude of forms could better harness
不同品种的花更好地合作 the potential of the numerous species of flower.
长了大眼睛的昆虫更易看到花朵 Insects with large eyes could spot the flowers,
更有力的翅膀让它们在植物间飞舞 powerful wings could carry them between plants,
复杂的口器能更深入蜜腺 and complex mouth parts could delve into the deepest nectary.
植物和昆虫一起进化 So plants and insects evolved together
令两者变得更多元化 driving their mutual diversity.
雨林是这过程的高峰 Rainforests are a combination of these presence,
这儿的物种比任何生境都更多元化 containing a greater variety of species than any other habitat.
这儿有些植物不只向昆虫开放 And here you can see that some plants didn't restrict themselves to insects.
例如这种绿玉藤 This, for example, is known as the jade vine.
为何它有这种诱人的蓝绿色? But why is it this extraordinary mesmerizing blue-green color?
我们知道它靠蝙蝠帮忙授粉 Well, we know that it is fertilized by bats.
所以花朵垂在半空 That's why the flowers hang out in the open,
让蝙蝠更易到达 so bats can get up them quite easily.
也许在蝙蝠眼中这种颜色 And so maybe this color stands out particularly boldly,
在月光之下尤其夺目 as bats are concerned, in the moonlight.
当蝙蝠飞至 When the bat arrives,
会把头伸进花裹吸花蜜 it stick its head into the flower to get the honey
同时按下这儿,令雄蕊伸出 and as it does so and presses there, out from this hook, come the stamens
让花粉沾到背上 and dab pollen on its back.
蝙蝠飞走后就会把花粉传给别的花 So when the bat goes away, it takes the pollen to another flower.
每种有花植物都有独特的进化故事 Each and every species of flowering plant has its own unique evolutionary story
跟协助其授粉的动物息息相关 that's closely coupled with the animals that pollinate it.
但有一科有花植物 But one family of flowering plant
这种关系发展得比其他植物复杂 has developed this relationship in more complex ways than any other
并因此成为世上最千变万化的植物 and, in doing so, has become the most numerous and diverse on the planet.
据估计,世上共有25000种兰花 There are an estimated 25,000 species of orchid.
达尔文对这一科植物尤其着迷 This family had a particular fascination for Charles Darwin
他在一封保存在裘园的信裹写道： as he reveals in one of his letters that is kept here in Kew.
“我对龙须兰非常感兴趣 He says, 'I have been extremely much interested with Catasetum...
对众多的异国兰花也一样 that's an orchid, "and indeed with many of the exotic orchids.
我对兰花的兴趣如人生中所有事物 Orchids have interested me as much as almost anything in my life.
达尔文上” Charles Darwin.
这种奇妙植物的其中一个品种 One species of these amazing plants can be found
就种在裘园室外 growing outside in the grounds of Kew.
兰花在很多方面都不平凡 Orchids are extraordinary plants from many points of view.
其中一点是这种花的下唇 But one of them is that the lower lip of the flower
受一组特别的基因控制 is controlled by a special set of genes.
意味着它可进化,并改变形状颜色 So that means that it can evolve and change its shape and color
而其他花瓣却维持原样 while the rest of its petals remain the same.
这朵小兰花的下唇进化出蜜蜂样子 The lower lip of this little orchid has evolved to look roughly like a bee.
人们从前以为那是警告 And people used to think that was a kind of warning
警告牛别吃掉花 to warn cows not to eat it
免得被蜜蜂刺痛舌头 on the grounds that they wouldn't want to get stung on the tongue.
但现在知道并非如此 Now we know that's not the case.
那是在模仿雌蜂,吸引雄蜂交配 This is a mimic of a female bee that's attracting a male to mate it
当雄蜂来交配时会令花授粉 and when the male mates, it will pollinate the flower.
要怎么证明? How do we know that's true?
因为这朵小花散发的气味 Because this little flower produces the scent
跟雌蜂吸引雄蜂时的气味一样 which is exactly the same as that of a female bee trying to attract a mate.
兰花独特的基因构成令它们进化出 The unique genetic make-up of orchids has allowed them to evolve
匪夷所思的复杂性 an almost unbelievable degree of complexity.
它们在湿区裹显得很多元化而复杂 And they produce their greatest variety and complexity in the wet zone.
它们种在裘园的威尔士王妃温室 At Kew, they are cultivated inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
这儿的环境最适合它们 In this section, conditions are perfect for them.
每种兰花都有独特的外形与颜色 Each orchid species has its own characteristic form and color.
代表了动植物间在进化上 They represent the pinnacle of evolutionary co-operation
合作的顶峰 between animals and plants.
在最极端的情况 In their most extreme form,
植物只向一种动物独家开放 the relationship for the plant is an exclusive one.
只有一种昆虫有适合的工具 Only one species of insect would have the right equipment
吃到这种植物的花蜜 to claim the plant's nectar.
这种一对一的 This relationship between a particular kind of insect
昆虫和植物关系 and a particular kind of plant
产生出超凡的结果 produces some extraordinary results.
其中一例是达尔文最爱的龙须兰 This for example is Darwin's favourite orchid, Catasetum.
通常兰花都可分雌雄 Unusually for orchids, some plants are male and others are female.
这是雄性的 This is a male.
它会发出一种气味 It produces a kind of scent
吸引单一种光亮鲜艳的小蜜蜂 that attracts just one species of small, glossy, beautifully coloured bee.
蜜蜂落在兰花的唇上 The bee lands on the lip of the orchid
把头塞进兰花裹 and thrust its head into the orchid's flower itself.
触碰了触发器 And that touches a trigger
令这些东西黏在蜜蜂背上 and sticks onto the bee's back
这些离奇的东西 this extraordinary thing,
其实是一束花粉粒,叫花粉块 which is, in fact, a bundle of pollen grains called "pollinia".
上面有个小盖子,约一分钟后盖子掉下 This has a little cap on it, which, after a minute or so, folds off
露出马蹄形状的一束花粉粒 and reveals there that little horseshoe shaped bundle of pollen grains.
高速摄影机让我们看到个中机制 High speed cameras can show us the trigger mechanism
花粉块以强大力量加速 The pollinia accelerates with great force
确保能牢牢地黏在昆虫背上 and so ensures it sticks firmly onto the insect's back.
蜜蜂飞走时一定挺头昏脑胀 The bee no doubt somewhat dazed flies away
也许想着永远也不会再来 and maybe thinks it's not going to do that again,
但它被另一朵外形迥异的花朵吸引 but is nonetheless attracted to another rather different looking flower,
就是雌花 which is the female,
它也能散发相同气味 but which produces just that sort of scent.
令蜜蜂把头塞进去,而这花粉块 And it sticks it's head into the female flower and this little bundle of pollen,
有如钥匙塞进锁孔一样 like a key fits into a little aperture, like a lock
花粉给扯掉,留下束尾在蜜蜂背上 and it pulls off the pollen and leaves on the bee's back a little bundle.
就这样,成功进行了授粉 and lo and behold pollination has been achieved.
很难想象进化是如何产生出 It's hard to imagine how evolution produced
如此复杂的授粉机制 such a complex pollination mechanism.
但有一种兰花的生命更加离奇 But there is one orchid whose life story is even more astonishing.
很多花卉会生产香甜花蜜 Many flowers produce a sweet nectar
引诱昆虫和动物替它们授粉 to entice insects and other animals to come and pollinate them.
但这种来自马达加斯加的长距风兰 But this orchid from Madagascar, the Comet Orchid,
它的花蜜在花后那特长花距的末端 carries its nectar at the end of extremely long spurs in back of its flower.
世上哪有东西的舌头够长 What on earth could have a tongue long enough
能伸到特长花距末端? to reach down those huge long spurs?
达尔文曾研究兰花的受精作用 Charles Darwin who studied the fertilization of orchids
认为那只能是某种没人见过的蛾 decided it could only be a moth, but nobody had ever seen it.
他辞世后多年,才证实了他的理论 Until some years after his death, it was proved right.
这是马岛长喙天蛾 This is Xanthopan morgani praedicta,
“摩根的预言天蛾” 'Morgan's predicted Sphinx moth'.
用特制的夜视摄影机 With special night-vision cameras,
可以看到为何需要超长的舌头 we can show why a such an immensely long tongue is needed.
舌头有三分之一米长 It's a third of a meter long,
长度跟花底下的花距相同 exactly the same length as the spur beneath the flower.
兰花跟传粉昆虫的关系 The relationship between orchids and their insect pollinators
十分密切 is certainly very intimate,
但这些西番莲跟蝴蝶的关系 but the connection between these passion flowers and butterflies
更是千丝万缕 is even more complex.
这种藤本植物叫西番莲 This is passiflora...the passion vine.
它跟兰花一样以鲜艳颜色吸引昆虫 Like orchids, its brightly colored displays attract pollinators.
其中一种是釉蛟蝶 One of them is a heliconid butterfly.
但当中昆虫与植物的关系 But this relationship between the insect and the plant
并不是简单的交易 is not straightforward trade off.
西番莲和蝴蝶在数百万年来 Passion vine and butterfly have been engaged
一直在互相较劲 in an on-going game of one-up-manship for many millions of years.
蝴蝶不只想要花蜜 The butterfly doesn't just want nectar.
还要找地方产卵 It also wants a place to lay its eggs,
那地方要有好吃的东西 a place where its caterpillars will have something good to eat
让毛虫随手可得 immediately nearby...
那就是西番莲的叶 passion flower leaves.
毛虫胃口很大 And its young have huge appetites.
但有些西番莲会反击 But some passion vines have fought back.
它们进化出自我保护的方法 They have evolved a way to protect themselves -
令叶子含有毒素 poison in their leaves.
但有时毒素也不足以防御 But sometimes even this is no defence.
有些毛虫不只能承受叶上的毒素 Some caterpillars not only tolerate the leaves' toxins
还会把毒素贮存于体内 but store them in their flesh
作为毛虫抵御天敌的武器 And now those toxin serve as a defence against the caterpillar's predators.
故事还没说完 And the story doesn't even end here.
西番莲进化出第二道防线 The passion vine has evolved a second line of defence.
这棵的叶子看来像一群蝴蝶 This one has leaves that give impression of being a swarm of butterflies.
透过模拟真正蝴蝶 By mimicking real ones,
暗示已没空间让新来者加入 it's maybe suggesting that there is no perching room for others.
在叶上的细节 And in the details of their leaves,
可以看到更惊人的东西 you can see something even more surprising.
这种西番莲有个特别方法 This kind of passion flower has a special way
劝阻雌性蝴蝶在其叶上产卵 of dissuading female butterflies from laying their eggs on its leaves.
它以小黄点模拟蝶卵 It imitates eggs with these little yellow spots
让雌性蝴蝶以为 so that female butterflies will think
叶子已给占据了 that these leaves are already taken as you might say.
这另一品种的西番莲也会这么做 And this different species of passion flower does the same thing
但用另一种方法模拟蝶卵 but imitates eggs in a different way
在叶底长出小小的肿块 with tiny little posts at the base of the leaf.
西番莲的战术显示了植物会用… The passion flower's tactics illustrate some of the complex ways
复杂方法防止被动物吃掉 by which plants dissuade animals from eating them.
但有些湿区物种却反客为主 But some wet zone species have turned the tables.
这叶芽很快会长成叶子 This bud will soon become a leaf.
但不是寻常叶子 It's no ordinary leaf.
它有着特别而邪恶的用途 It has a special all together more sinister purpose.
这株植物是猪笼草 This is Nepenthes, the pitcher plant.
生长在贫瘠的泥土中 It grows in nutrient-poor soils
要用别的方法得到氮和矿物质 so has to find nitrogen and minerals in another way.
它的叶子像花,能以奖赏吸引昆虫 The leaf, just like a flower, attracts insects with a reward.
猪笼草的颜色和气味 The pitcher is coloured and scented
会令苍蝇以为是一顿腐肉大餐 to appeal to flies looking for a meal of rotting flesh.
访客能得到一种油腻的物质 The visitors are rewarded with a greasy substance
就在猪笼草盖子下面 on the underside of the pitcher's lid
但猪笼草要得到回报 But the plant wants something in return.
不是要授粉,是要饱餐 Not pollen, but a meal.
笼口的唇布满滑溜的微小隆起物 The lip of the pitcher is covered in tiny slippery ridges.
蜡质进一步令表面润滑 Wax lubricates the surface further.
就连苍蝇也很难抓牢 It's extremely difficult to hold on, even for a fly.
进去后就没路可逃 Once inside there's no escape.
叶裹有一池消化液 The leaf holds a pool of digestive liquid.
当中包含微小的弹性幼丝 This contains microscopic elastic filaments
令它有如流沙 which give it the properties of quicksand.
昆虫挣扎得越厉害,就沉得越深 The more the insect struggles the deeper it sinks.
酵素会活生生地分解昆虫的身体 Enzymes begin to dissolve the victim's body while it is still alive.
有些猪笼草不只吃昆虫 Some pitchers aren't content with just insects.
这种会吃老鼠 This one eats mice.
老鼠也许被唇部的花蜜引来 The mice come along perhaps attracted by the sweet nectar on the lip,
掉进去,出不来 they fall in, they can't get a purchase to get out,
淹死在裹面,被笼里液体的酵素 they drown and eventually the enzymes in the pitchers fluid
分解了身体 什么也不剩, dissolve the body so eventually there's nothing left
除了毛发和骨头 but a bit of fur and bones.
这种是劳氏猪笼草 This pitcher is called Nepenthes lowii.
生长于婆罗洲山上的森林斜坡 It lives on the forested slopes of Borneo's mountains.
也许是最不寻常的一种猪笼草 And it's perhaps the most extraordinary pitcher of them all.
证据是它也能引来小型哺乳动物 The evidence is that it too attracts small mammals.
它的笼盖下会分泌出一种花蜜 It secretes a sort of nectar from the underside of the lid there
吸引小树鼬 and that attracts little tree shrews.
这种可爱的小动物是山地树鼬 This engaging little animal is Tupaia montana...the mountain tree shrew.
以水果和昆虫为食 It feeds on fruit and any insects it can find.
但也会到访猪笼草 But it also visits pitcher plants.
接着发生的事一直成谜,直至最近 Until recently, what happens next was a mystery.
这片段显示 This footage seems to show that
树鼬有方法避过滑溜的死亡陷阱 the animal has found a way of evading the slippery death trap.
而且 What is more,
它还吃笼盖下的物质 it is feeding on a substance lining the underside of the pitcher's lid.
这猪笼草不是靠动物尸体得养分 This pitcher doesn't get it nutrient from the bodies of dead animals;
它有别的方法自给自足 it has got another way of sustaining itself.
树鼬来舔它 The tree shrews come to lick it
屁股就在猪笼草正上面 and when they do their rear end is directly over the pitcher
排泄物都掉了进去 so that their droppings fall into it.
正是这些排泄物给植物提供养分 And it's that that provides this plant with its nourishment.
有人甚至提出 It has even been suggested
它的花蜜含轻泻剂,促使树鼬排便 that that nectar contains a laxative to persuade the shrew to do just that.
长时间稳定的雨林环境 The stability of the rain-forest environment over time
让动植物的共同进化 has allowed the co-evolution of animals and plants
发展出无与伦比的复杂性 to develop to an unrivalled degree of complexity.
但复杂带来脆弱 But with complexity comes fragility.
每个物种在雨林复杂的环境 Each and every species has its own place
都有自己的位置 in the complex workings of the rain-forest.
近年裘园作为湿区活实验室的角色 In recent years, Kew's unique position as a living laboratory of the wet zone
变得越发重要 has become more important than ever.
裘园的重要性伸延至300英亩外 These days Kew's role extend far beyond these 300 acres...
人们在这儿致力… and here people are working
拯救极其珍稀的植物,免其绝种 to rescue extremely rare plants from total extinction.
每个物种的灭绝危机都会认真看待 The danger of losing a single species is taken very seriously indeed.
在睡莲室 Here in the waterlily room,
专家为拯救一个物种免于灭绝 experts face a desperate scramble
而苦苦挣扎 to save one species from oblivion.
在王莲浮叶当中的 Nestling amongst the giant waterlily pads is the tiny Nymphaea thermarum,
是侏儒卢旺达睡莲 the Rwandan water lily...
世上最小也最罕有的睡莲 the smallest and rarest waterlily in the world.
它们在野外已经绝种 Extinct in the wild,
这几朵是仅余的样本 these precious few individuals are some of the last remaining specimens.
照片中的是唯一已知的原生生境 These photographs show it's only known native habitat
那已是20多年前的照片 as it was over 20 years ago...
是卢旺达一个温泉 a hot spring in Rwanda.
但最近这儿受到破坏 It was destroyed just recently
因当地人把泉水引流,以便洗衣 when locals redirected its waters to supply a laundry.
一个标本给带回欧洲 A single specimen was brought back to Europe,
但这物种仍濒临绝种 but the species remained on the brink.
它的种子能发芽,但幼苗总活不长 Its seeds would germinate, but the seedlings always died.
后来种子交了给裘园的 Then some were given to this man at Kew...
卡洛斯麦岱连拿 Carlos Magdalena.
西班牙人称他为植物救主 Known in Spain as the Plant Messiah,
卡洛斯以拯救濒危物种的技术闻名 Carlos is famous for his great skill in rescuing endangered species.
但这种小植物几乎难倒他 But even Carlos nearly met his match with this tiny plant.
我测试过很多不同幼苗,全不成功 I tested many different seedlings... nothing seemed to work.
意味这品种很快永远绝种 That meant that the species was about to disappear forever.
正是,所以我很担心 Exactly and that was very worrying for me.
我开始对它有点执念 I started becoming a little bit obsessed with it.
是的 Yes.
那未免令人不安 I mean it's just a bit distressing isn't
因为你所做的工作 to know that something you can do or not,
会影响一整个物种的存亡 makes a difference to a species.
卡洛斯没放弃,他有个荒诞的主意 Carlos didn't give up... he had one more unlikely idea...
尝试不在水中种植睡莲 he tried growing the waterlily out of water.
想一想,不在水中种植睡莲 If you think about it growing a water lily out of water
有如要在池塘种仙人掌一样荒谬 is something as crazy as trying to grow a cacti floating in a pond.
逻辑上你永不会这么做 So it was the last unlikely thing that logically you will do
但却有实际成效 and then that is the result.
卡洛斯的天才主意 Carlos' inspired idea
是要利用这植物奇异的生态特性 was to make use of this plant's strange ecological quirk.
几乎所有睡莲都只在深水生长 Nearly all other waterlilies only grow in deep water
但卢旺达温泉很浅 but the Rwandan spring was very shallow
只比一滩湿泥深一点 - little more than damp mud.
卡洛斯把它放在水上的盆裹种 And so by growing it in pots above the water,
复制出它的自然生境 Carlos replicated its natural habitat.
短短几星期就有50个样本含苞待放 Within a few short weeks there were 50 specimens all set to flower.
这一刻很关键 So this is a crucial moment
要是成功,而这很有可能 because if this works and its clearly going to,
你就拯救了这物种 you have in fact yourself saved the species.
若不是这荒诞主意,这物种就绝种 If I didn't have this crazy idea this whole species will be gone forever.
真是清丽脱俗 That's absolutely charming...beautiful.
在这个精彩物种繁多的环境 In an environment with so many species and so many spectacular ones,
要花那么大的工夫 it might seem odd to spend so much trouble
去拯救这不太起眼的物种似乎奇怪 in trying to save just one comparatively inconspicuous one.
但雨林裹的关系错综复杂 But the relationships within the rain-forest are so complex and so extensive
失去一个物种 that the loss of just one
能导致难以预料的后果 can have a whole series of unpredictable consequences.
失去一种植物可能会失去一种昆虫 The loss of a plant can mean the loss of an insect,
失去一种昆虫能令树丛失去授粉者 the loss of an insect can mean that a bush loses its pollinator;
失去树丛会令哺乳类动物失去食物 the loss of a bush can mean that a mammal has lost its food plant.
没人知道这事会否发生和何时发生 Nobody can say exactly when or if such things are going to happen.
但我认为预防它发生 But to me, preventing it happening in the first place
很理所当然 seems to make absolute sense.
植物的故事远远扩展到湿区以外 The story of plants spreads well beyond the wet zone.
进化至占据地球上几乎每个环境 They have evolved to occupy almost every environment on the planet.
它们在变化莫测的地区存活 They survive in regions of constant change.
也在几乎全不下雨的泥土茁壮成长 They thrive in soils that almost never see rain.
我们将会发现 And, as we will discover,
它们的生活往往是我们浑然不觉的 they do much of their living in ways that go almost entirely undetected by us.
本片使用3D摄制和电脑图像强化技术
拍摄地点在皇家植物园－裘园及其它可控环境