Fire Lily Rising from the Ashes
BBC Earth｜Seasonal Worlds·The Green Planet

As summer approaches, the need to flower becomes more urgent. And nowhere more so than here in South Africa. Here there are more different species of plant than anywhere else in the world. Nearly 9,000, many needing pollinators. They compete with one another for such help by flaunting extravagant shapes and vivid colours, all promising nectar as a sugary reward.
随着夏天的临近，开花的需求变得愈发迫切。尤其是在南非，这里的植物种类比世界上任何其他地方都要丰富。将近9000种植物中，许多都需要传粉者的帮助。它们通过招展华丽的外形和鲜艳的颜色来争夺这种帮助，并都承诺以花蜜作为甜蜜的回报。

But there is a plant here that avoids this crowded competition. And the rising temperatures of summer bring just what it needs. This is the first fire here for 15 years. Nearly all the plants are destroyed, incinerated. It might seem from the smoke and the still-smouldering embers that no plant could survive such an inferno.
但这里有一种植物避开了这种拥挤的竞争。夏天温度的上升给它带来了所需的一切。这是这里15年来的第一场火灾。几乎所有的植物都被摧毁了，被焚烧殆尽。从烟雾和闷燃的余烬中看，似乎没有植物能在这样一场大火中存活。

But just four days after the flames, rising from the ashes, a fire lily. It has been lying dormant underground for 15 years, but now, awakened by the smoke, it flowers. The blooms may be small and unshowy, but that's all they need to be.
但就在大火过后的第四天，一朵火百合在灰烬中重生。它已经在地下蛰伏了15年，但现在，被烟雾唤醒后，它开花了。这些花朵可能小而不起眼，但这正是它们所需要的。

In this charred landscape, pollinators, such as these sunbirds, can spot these little red beacons from great distances. They're the only source of nectar around. And the more visitors the flowers attract, the more likely they are to be pollinated. It's just in time.
在这片焦黑的景观上，传粉者，比如这些太阳鸟，可以从很远的地方发现这些小小的红色信号。它们是周围唯一的花蜜来源。花朵吸引的访客越多，它们被传粉的可能性就越大。一切都恰逢其时。

Within a few months, the whole landscape is alive once more. In fact, all these plants need fire to survive. And as competitors return, the fire lily fades. It now returns underground and will rest there as a bulb until another fire awakens it.
几个月后，整个地貌又恢复了生机。实际上，这些植物都需要火才能生存。随着竞争者归来，火焰百合逐渐凋谢。它现在回到了地下，化作一颗球茎继续蛰伏，直到另一场火将它唤醒。

词汇表
urgent  [ˈɜːdʒənt] 紧迫的，迫切的
flaunt [flɔːnt] 炫耀，招展，卖弄
extravagant [ɪkˈstrævəɡənt] 华丽的；奢侈的；过分的，放肆的
nectar [ˈnektə(r)] 花蜜，甘露
sugary reward ['ʃʊɡəri] 甜蜜的回报
incinerate[ɪnˈsɪnəreɪt] 焚化，烧毁
smouldering embers [ˈsməuldəriŋ] [ˈembə(r)] 闷燃的余烬
inferno [ɪnˈfɜːnəʊ] 大火；地狱，阴间
rise from the ashes [æʃ] 在灰烬中重生，浴火重生；死灰复燃
fire lily ['lɪlɪ] 火百合（原产于南非，以其在火灾后产生鲜艳的红色花朵而闻名  ）
dormant [ˈdɔːmənt] 蛰伏的，休眠的
awaken [əˈweɪkən] 唤醒，叫醒；使意识到
bloom [bluːm] 花；开花
unshowy [ʌnˈʃəʊi] 不显眼的，不艳丽的
charred [tʃɑː(r)d] 烧焦的，焦黑的
landscape [ˈlændskeɪp] 景象，地貌；风景
pollinator ['pɒlɪneɪtə] 传粉者，传粉昆虫
sunbird ['sʌnbә:d] 太阳鸟（外表习性似蜂鸟，喜欢停留在花上食蜜）
beacon [ˈbiːkən] 信号，信号灯；烽火
pollinate  [ˈpɔlɪneɪt] 授粉，传花粉给
fade [feɪd] 枯萎，凋谢；褪色，消失
bulb [bʌlb] （植物的）球茎；球茎状物；电灯泡

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