賞櫻季到啦!關於櫻花你可能不知道的10件事

陽春三月，最適合去公園裡賞櫻花。但不是每個國家的人都可以有幸看到櫻花美景。關於櫻花，你了解多少？

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

 

1. YOU'LL ONLY FIND CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN A HANDFUL OF COUNTRIES.
只有為數不多的幾個國家有櫻花

Called sakura in Japan, the cherry blossoms of Yoshino and Kyoto are world-famous. Tourists flock to the country each spring to try their hand at a centuries-old activity called hanami, or 「flower viewing.」 You don’t have to fly to Japan to see them, though. In the US, the cherry blossoms of Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston are all beautiful in their own way. The flowers can also be viewed in many European and Asian countries, as well as Brazil and Australia in the southern hemisphere.

櫻花在日本名叫sakura，以吉野和京都的櫻花最為著名。每年春天，遊客都會蜂擁到日本，參加有數百年歷史的賞花會。不過，看櫻花不用飛到日本去。在美國的華盛頓、紐約、費城、聖路易斯、西雅圖、舊金山、波士頓的櫻花美景都各有特色。歐洲和亞洲的許多國家，還有南半球的巴西和澳洲，都可以看到櫻花。

 

2. THE CHERRY BLOSSOM CAPITAL OF THE WORLD IS IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA.
「世界櫻花之都」在美國喬治亞州

Believe it or not, the city of Macon in central Georgia is recognized as the 「Cherry Blossom Capital of the World」—at least according to US Congressional records. It’s home to 350,000 Yoshino cherry trees, while Washington, D.C. has fewer than 4000 trees.

信不信由你，美國喬治亞州中部的梅肯市被譽為「世界櫻花之都」，至少美國國會記錄是這麼顯示的。梅肯市有35萬棵吉野櫻樹，而華盛頓特區的櫻樹還不到4000棵。

 

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3. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF CHERRY TREE VARIETIES.
櫻樹有幾百個品種

Japan in particular is home to hundreds of types of cherry tree—possibly more than 600, by more liberal estimates. Some types bear fruit, while others don’t. The flowers of many trees change from dark pink to light pink to white throughout the different stages of blossoming, while others progress from greenish yellow to white to pink. One variety, called Kanzan, was bred to have 「double blossoms」—or up to 28 petals on each flower, compared to the Yoshino tree’s five petals.

日本擁有幾百個品種的櫻樹，據樂觀的估計，可能有600多種。有些櫻樹能結果，有些不能。許多櫻樹在不同的開花階段顏色會從深粉變成淡粉再變成白色，而其他一些櫻樹的花則會從黃綠色變成白色再變成粉色。有一種關山櫻能開「兩重花」，每朵花花瓣多達28個，而吉野櫻樹的花只有五個花瓣。

 

4. THEY DON'T BLOOM FOR LONG.
櫻花花期很短

A cherry tree might only remain in bloom for one to two weeks. However, they only keep up their 「peak color」 for about three days, so it’s best to time your trip wisely if you’re visiting a cherry blossom destination from out of town. The timing depends on a number of factors, including location, heat, and daylight.

一顆櫻樹的花期只有一到兩周。但是，櫻花顏色最美的時間只有三天，所以如果你是去外地賞櫻，最好能把握住時機。賞櫻的最佳時間取決於多種因素，包括地點、溫度和日照。

 

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5. CLIMATE CHANGE COULD BE MAKING THEM BLOSSOM EARLIER.
氣候變化會讓櫻花更早盛開

Some scholars have suggested that the trees are blooming earlier and earlier as the planet gradually gets warmer. Dr. Soo-Hyung Kim, an ecophysiologist at the University of Washington who has studied the phenomenon, says that by 2080 we could expect to see cherry blossoms in D.C. as early as February.

一些學者指出，隨著全球變暖，櫻樹開花的時間越來越早。研究這一現象的華盛頓大學生態生理學家金秀賢博士說，到2080年，櫻花可能會提早至二月份盛開。

 

6. YOU CAN GET ARRESTED FOR PLUCKING A CHERRY BLOSSOM IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
在華盛頓摘櫻花會被警察抓起來

Resist the urge to take a cherry blossom home with you as a souvenir. In D.C. at least, breaking off a blossom or branch is viewed as vandalism of federal property. Those who break this rule could receive a citation, or worse, be arrested. It goes without saying that it’s also illegal to climb the trees. If they sustain damage to their branches, they will never be able to grow new blossoms on that particular bough again.

克制住把櫻花當成紀念品帶回家的衝動吧，至少在華盛頓特區要謹記。在那裡，摘櫻花或折櫻樹枝被視為破壞聯邦財產。違反這條規定的人將收到法院傳票甚至被捕。不用說，爬櫻樹也是違法的。如果在爬樹途中損壞了樹枝，那麼這個枝頭就再也開不出花來了。

vandalism['vændəlɪzəm]: n. 故意毀壞文物的行為；破壞他人財產的行為

citation[saɪ'teʃən]: n. [法] 傳票

 

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7. THE VERY FIRST CHERRY TREES TO ARRIVE IN AMERICA WERE A COMPLETE DISASTER.
運到美國的第一批櫻樹慘不忍睹

In 1909, Japan offered to send 2000 cherry trees to America as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. Despite the good intentions, the execution was disastrous. When the trees arrived in D.C. in January 1910, the trees were weak—due to overpruning of their roots—and they were also infested with wood-boring insects. Despite attempts to save them, the trees were ultimately thrown in a pile and burned.

1909年，日本提出運送2000棵櫻樹到美國，這些櫻樹象徵兩國間的友誼。儘管意圖是良好的，但執行起來卻是一團糟。這些櫻樹在1910年1月到達華盛頓時，都因為根部過度修剪並感染了木材鑽孔蟲而奄奄一息。儘管已經試過挽救它們，最後這些樹還是堆起來燒掉了。

Everyone was pretty embarrassed about the whole ordeal, but Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki made a joke to ease some of the tension. 「To be honest about it, it has been an American tradition to destroy cherry trees ever since your first president, George Washington,」 he said. 「So there’s nothing to worry about. In fact, you should be feeling proud.」 (Washington's cherry tree story turned out to be untrue) Another shipment of trees was sent, and by 1912, the healthy trees were successfully planted in D.C. by then-First Lady Helen Taft.

大家對這件糟心事都覺得挺尷尬，不過東京市長尾崎行雄開了個玩笑來緩解緊張氣氛。「老實說，毀掉櫻樹是從你們第一任總統喬治·華盛頓那裡流傳下來的美國傳統，所以沒什麼好煩心的。事實上，你們還應該感到驕傲。」（華盛頓砍櫻樹的故事後來被證實是假的）後來日本又運了一批櫻樹到美國，到1912年，當時的美國第一夫人海倫·塔夫脫成功種下了這些健康的櫻樹。

 

8. THE CHERRY TREES IN ONE DUTCH MUNICIPALITY HAVE PROPER NAMES.
荷蘭某市的櫻樹有專有名字

Located in the largest park in the Netherlands, all 400 cherry blossom trees have proper names. Half of them have traditional Dutch women’s names, and the other half have Japanese women’s names. The Japan Women’s Club gifted the trees in 2000, and you can now find them at Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest) in the Amstelveen municipality.

荷蘭最大公園中的400棵櫻樹都有自己的名字。一半櫻樹有傳統的荷蘭女性名字，另外一半櫻樹是日本女性的名字。這些樹是日本女子俱樂部在2000年贈予荷蘭的，現在可以在阿姆斯特爾芬的阿姆斯特丹森林看到它們。

 

Photo by Jimmy Chang on Unsplash

 

9. BOTH THE BLOSSOMS AND LEAVES ARE EDIBLE.
櫻樹的花和葉都是可食用的

In Japan, no part of the cherry blossom tree goes to waste. The preserved leaves are used as edible mochi wrappers (a rice cake filled with sweet bean paste), and a number of seasonal snacks feature sakura as a key ingredient. Sakura-infused versions of Pepsi, Coke, tea, and even Starbucks lattes are all popular drinks. You can also find Kit Kats and Pocky snack sticks that taste like sakura.

在日本，櫻樹的所有部位都不會被浪費。浸泡過的櫻樹葉被用來包日本糯米糰（一種豆沙餡年糕），很多時令小吃也都用櫻花來做重要配料。加入櫻花的百事可樂、可口可樂、茶甚至星巴克拿鐵咖啡都是人氣飲料。還有櫻花口味的奇巧餅乾和百奇餅乾棒。

mochi['mɔkɪ]: n. 糯米糰（用糯米粉做的糕團）

 

10. THEY WERE THE INSPIRATION BEHIND A RECORD-SETTING LEGO SCULPTURE.
櫻花是創紀錄的樂高雕塑的靈感來源

LEGOLAND Japan, a theme park in Nagoya, set a Guinness World Record in 2018 for the largest LEGO brick cherry blossom tree ever made. The tree stood 14 feet tall, weighed over 7000 pounds, and consisted of more than 800,000 LEGO bricks.

2018年，位於名古屋的日本樂高主題樂園推出了有史以來最大的樂高櫻花樹，創下了金氏世界紀錄。這棵「樹」高達14英尺（4米），重量超7000磅（3175千克），由超80萬塊樂高積木組成。

 

英文來源：Mental Floss

翻譯&編輯：丹妮

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