海底兩萬里 第221期 第17章 海底森林(2)

I soon grew accustomed to this bizarre arrangement, likewise to the comparative darkness surrounding us. The seafloor in this forest was strewn with sharp chunks of stone that were hard to avoid. Here the range of underwater flora seemed pretty comprehensive to me, as well as more abundant than it might have been in the arctic or tropical zones, where such exhibits are less common. But for a few minutes I kept accidentally confusing the two kingdoms, mistaking zoophytes for water plants, animals for vegetables. And who hasn't made the same blunder? Flora and fauna are so closely associated in the underwater world!

不久我便看慣了這種古怪的形狀，同時也習(xí)慣了我們四周的相對的黑暗環(huán)境。林中地上隨處有尖利的石塊，很不容易躲開。海底植物，據(jù)我看，在這里是應(yīng)有盡有了，比產(chǎn)量較少的南北兩極地帶或熱帶區(qū)域，可能更為豐富。不過，在幾分鐘內(nèi)，我不知不覺地把動植物兩類混淆起來，把植蟲動物當(dāng)做水產(chǎn)植物，把動物當(dāng)做植物。本來，誰能不弄錯呢?在海底下，動物界和植物界是十分接近的：

I observed that all these exhibits from the vegetable kingdom were attacthed to the seafloor by only the most makeshift methods. They had no roots and didn't care which solid objects secured them, sand, shells, husks, or pebbles; they didn't ask their hosts for sustenance, just a point of purchase. These plants are entirely self-propagating, and the principle of their existence lies in the water that sustains and nourishes them. In place of leaves, most of them sprouted blades of unpredictable shape, which were confined to a narrow gamut of colors consisting only of pink, crimson, green, olive, tan, and brown.

我觀察到，所有這里的植物界產(chǎn)品，跟土壤只是表面上連接起來。它們沒有根，支持它們的不管是固體、是沙、是貝、是甲殼或石子，都沒有什么影響，它們所要求的只是一個支點，而不是借以生長購力量。這些植物只是自己發(fā)展起來，它們生存的唯一資源就是那維持它們和滋養(yǎng)它們的海水。它們大部分不長葉子，只長出奇形怪狀的小片，表面的色彩很有限，只有玫瑰紅、洋紅、青綠、青黃、灰褐、古銅等顏色。