世界文化之非洲动植物（36）——纸莎草

鹰击长空

　　我走遍世界，却唯独没有去过非洲。然而，当你初步了解了非洲之后才知道，非洲不是你想象中的荒蛮之地，非洲也有美丽的风景、可爱的动物和艳丽的花朵，通过阅读这些英语短文，可以细细的品味非洲的美丽。

　　Cyperus papyrus is a stately aquatic member of the sedge family . The plants are easily cultivated and suitable for medium to large water features , especially in warmer climates .

　　The most conspicuous feature of the plants are the bright green , smooth , rounded culms ( flowering stems ) which are up to 40mm thick at the base and may be up to 5m tall in ideal conditions .

　　Each is topped by a dense cluster of thin , bright green , shiny stalks , which resemble a feather duster when young . The stalks elongate later and bend gracefully downward under their own weight so that the cluster becomes almost spherical in shape .

　　Cyperus papyrus grows in full sun , in wet swamps and on lake margins throughout Africa , Madagascar and the Mediterranean countries . In deeper waters it is the chief constituent of the floating , tangled masses of vegetation known as sudd .

　　In southern Africa it is limited to the lower altitude , warmer parts of Namibia , Botswana , Limpopo , Mpumalanga and KwaZulu - Natal .

　　Plants cultivated on the Highveld do seem to tolerate a few degrees of frost ; the plants are more - or - less dormant in winter and as long as the rhizomes are protected from freezing , the old weathered culms of the previous summer ' s growth will be replaced by new ones in spring .

　　In its natural habitat Cyperus papyrus occurs in large , dense populations , often lining bodies of water such as in the Okavango Swamps of Botswana . The " feather - duster " flowering heads of papyrus make ideal nesting sites for many social species of birds .

　　As in most sedges , pollination is effected by wind , not insects , and the mature fruits after release are distributed by wind and water .

　　The plant ' s use in paper - making in Ancient Egypt is mentioned . It can be said that this invention was the foundation of modern civilization . To this day expensive papers are made from papyrus using the original techniques .

　　In southern Africa the starchy rhizomes and culms are eaten , raw or cooked , by humans . The culms are also used for building materials . Young shoots are frequently grazed by livestock .

　　Ideally , the plants need a muddy or sandy substrate in water at least half a meter deep so that the tall culms will not topple . They need full sun but also need to be sheltered from strong winds and for best effect should be allowed to form a large colony .

　　In winter the oldest culms dry off and can be removed with a sharp implement . New culms will be formed in spring from the growing point of the rhizome . Propagation is by division of the rhizome in spring .

　　Germination from seed is not recommended . The time period from seed to flowering is not known but it is undoubtedly several years .

　　No pests have been observed to attack Cyperus papyrus , with the exception of a rust fungus which appears to be specific to the family .

　　纸莎草是莎草科一种高贵的水生植物。这种植物易于栽培，适合种植在中到大型的人工水景中，尤其是在温暖的气候中。

　　这些植物最显着的特征是明亮的绿色，光滑的，圆形的茎秆（花茎）根部厚达40毫米，在理想的情况下可以高达5米。

　　每株顶端都有浓密的嫩绿、闪亮的茎，刚长出来时就像鸡毛掸子。茎杆在自身重量的作用下逐渐拉长，并优雅地向下弯曲，使得丛生植物几乎变成球形。

　　莎草在阳光充足、潮湿的沼泽和湖泊边缘生长，遍布非洲、马达加斯加和地中海国家。在较深的水域，它是漂浮着的、杂乱无章的植物群的主要组成部分，这种植物群被称为苏德沼泽。

　　在南部非洲，它只限于纳米比亚、博茨瓦纳、林波波、姆普马兰加和夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的较低海拔地区。

　　高地种植的植物似乎能忍受几度的霜冻；冬天时，植物或多或少处于休眠状态，只要根茎不受冻，上个夏天生长的老树干就能存活下来到了春天就会被新的取代。

　　在它的自然栖息地，莎草数量庞大、数量密集，通常分布在水体中，例如博茨瓦纳的奥卡万戈沼泽。纸莎草的“鸡毛掸子”花冠为许多群居鸟类提供了理想的筑巢地点。

　　和大多数莎草一样，授粉是通过风而不是昆虫，成熟果实释放后通过风和水传播。在古埃及，这种植物被用于造纸。可以说，这项发明是现代文明的基础。时至今日，昂贵的纸还使用原始技术用纸莎草制作。

　　在非洲南部，含淀粉的根状茎和茎干被人类生吃或煮吃。秆也被用作建筑材料。家畜经常吃嫩枝。理想情况下，植物需要在至少半米深的水中有泥质或沙质基质，这样高大的茎杆就不会倒下。

　　它们需要充足的阳光，但也需要躲避强风，为了达到最佳效果，应该允许它们形成一个大的群体。冬天，最老的秆会变干，可以用锋利的器具把它们割掉。春天，新的秆将从根茎的生长点开始形成。繁殖是在春天通过根状茎的分裂进行的。

　　不建议从种子发芽开始养育。从种子到开花的时间也没人知道，但毫无疑问是几年。除了一种锈菌外，没有观察到害虫会攻击纸莎草。