Botanists have laid out evidence that dozens of North American trees, herbs, plants and shrubs have gone extinct since European settlers arrived.

植物學(xué)家已經(jīng)拿出證據(jù)證明，自從歐洲殖民者來到北美，幾十種樹木、草藥、植物和灌木已經(jīng)滅絕。


The Franklinia tree, discovered by John Bartram, King George III’s botanist, and his son, William, in Georgia in 1765, has not been seen in the wild since 1803.Credit...The Natural History Museum, London

1765年，英王喬治三世的植物學(xué)家約翰·巴特拉姆和他的兒子威廉在喬治亞州發(fā)現(xiàn)了富蘭克林樹，自1803年以來就沒有在野外發(fā)現(xiàn)過。圖片來自倫敦自然歷史博物館。

It isn’t easy to say that anything has truly “gone extinct.”
For starters, an untold number of creatures — especially teensy, nocturnal or otherwise cryptic ones — have vanished before humans ever noticed them.

要說有什么東西真的“滅絕了”并不容易。
首先，無數(shù)的生物——尤其是微小的、夜行性的或其他神秘的生物——在人類注意到它們之前就已經(jīng)消失了。

Once biologists suspect a documented species’ extinction, the challenge shifts to proving whether it has disappeared forever, or just disappeared from sight.

一旦生物學(xué)家懷疑一個有記錄的物種滅絕，挑戰(zhàn)就轉(zhuǎn)移到證明它是永遠(yuǎn)消失了，還是從人們的視線中消失了。

Even when scientists are 99 percent certain something is gone, they may never know whether pathogens, habitat disturbance, invasive species, climate change or some other force drove them out of existence.

即使科學(xué)家有99%的把握，他們可能永遠(yuǎn)也不知道是病原體、棲息地干擾、入侵物種、氣候變化或其他力量導(dǎo)致了它們的消失。

“There’s a sense that we’ve got it down — that we know our flora and we know what’s extinct,” said Anne Frances, the lead botanist for NatureServe, which promotes wildlife conservation. That belief couldn’t be further from the truth, she said.

促進(jìn)野生動物保護(hù)的自然保護(hù)區(qū)的首席植物學(xué)家安妮·弗朗西絲說:“有一種感覺是我們已經(jīng)掌握了它——我們知道我們的植物群，我們知道什么已經(jīng)滅絕了?！彼f，這種信念與事實(shí)相差甚遠(yuǎn)。

In a study published in August in Conservation Biology, Dr. Frances and 15 other researchers from across the United States quantified how many trees, shrubs, herbs and flowering plants have vanished from North America since European settlement. After compiling existing information on presumed extinct species and working with local botanists to vet the data, the group narrowed down a list of 65 plant species, subspecies and varieties that have been lost forever in the wild.

在今年8月發(fā)表在《保護(hù)生物學(xué)》雜志上的一項研究中，弗朗西絲博士和來自美國各地的其他15名研究人員量化了自歐洲人定居北美以來，有多少樹木、灌木、草藥和開花植物在北美消失了。在整理了關(guān)于已經(jīng)滅絕的物種的現(xiàn)有信息，并與當(dāng)?shù)刂参飳W(xué)家合作對數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)行審查后，該小組縮小了在野外永遠(yuǎn)消失的65種植物、亞種和變種的范圍。
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That figure is almost certainly an underestimate, said Wes Knapp, a botanist at the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program and a co-author of the study.

幾乎可以肯定，這個數(shù)字被低估了，韋斯納普說，他是北卡羅來納州自然遺產(chǎn)項目(North Carolina Natural Heritage Program)的植物學(xué)家，也是這項研究的合著者。

“That 65 is not rock solid,” he said. “We’re still documenting what’s on the ground, and you can never really prove a hypothesis like ‘extinct.’”

他說:“65種這個數(shù)字并不可靠?！薄拔覀?nèi)栽谟涗浀孛嫔系那闆r，你永遠(yuǎn)無法真正證明‘滅絕’這樣的假設(shè)?！?/b>

After all, scientists rediscover extinct species all the time, as well as uncover secret extinctions hidden in natural history museum collections.

畢竟，科學(xué)家們一直在重新發(fā)現(xiàn)滅絕的物種，也在揭開自然歷史博物館藏品中隱藏的絕種秘密。

“Humans like to put things into neat categories, but nature doesn’t present itself that way,” Dr. Frances said. “Every plant on this list is its own little mystery.”

“人類喜歡把事物簡單地分類，但大自然并不是這樣表現(xiàn)的，”弗朗西絲博士說。“這個名單上的每一種植物都有自己的小秘密?！?/b>

Franklinia Tree

富蘭克林樹


Franklinia alatamaha, extinct in nature, can still be found in arboretums and botanical gardens.Credit...

在自然界已經(jīng)滅絕的富蘭克林樹，現(xiàn)在仍然可以在（供科研用的）樹木園和植物園中找到。

Despite the fact that it’s extinct, you could reasonably venture upon Franklinia alatamaha.

盡管事實(shí)上它已經(jīng)滅絕了，你仍然可以碰運(yùn)氣去找富蘭克林樹。

Considered “extinct in the wild,” the Franklinia tree — along with six other plants listed in the recent study — now exists only in cultivated spaces such as arboretums or botanical gardens.

被認(rèn)為“在野外已經(jīng)滅絕”的富蘭克林樹，以及最近研究中列出的其他六種植物，現(xiàn)在只存在于人工種植的地方，如樹木園或植物園。

John Bartram, King George III’s botanist in the Americas, and his son William first described the species (and named it for family friend Benjamin Franklin) after stumbling upon the unfamiliar tree along Georgia’s Altamaha River in 1765.

喬治三世在美洲的植物學(xué)家約翰·巴特拉姆，和他的兒子威廉第一次描述了這個物種(并以家族朋友本杰明·富蘭克林的名字命名)，他們在1765年在喬治亞州的阿爾塔馬哈河畔偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種不熟悉的樹。

In a lucky twist, the younger Mr. Bartram returned a few years later to collect seeds and cuttings, and brought them to Philadelphia where the first cultivated Franklinia tree bloomed in 1781. Within a quarter-century, in 1803, the species was spotted in the wild for the last time.

幸運(yùn)的是，年輕的巴特拉姆幾年后回來收集種子和插枝，并把它們帶到費(fèi)城，1781年，第一棵人工培育的富蘭克林樹在那里開花。四分之一個世紀(jì)后，也就是1803年，該物種最后一次在野外被發(fā)現(xiàn)。

Today, any Franklinia trees you might encounter in cemeteries, gardens and parks are descendants of Mr. Bartram’s cultivations. “It wasn’t meant to prevent extinction,” Mr. Knapp said, “but it did.”

如今，你在墓地、花園和公園里見到的任何富蘭克林樹，都是巴特拉姆培植的后代?！斑@并不是為了防止物種滅絕，”納普說，“但事實(shí)上發(fā)揮了這樣的作用?！?/b>

It’s unclear how the tree disappeared, though some have suggested a soil-borne cotton pathogen, over-collection by nurseries or a change in regional fire frequency could have played a role in its demise.

目前還不清楚這種樹是如何消失的，不過一些人認(rèn)為是土壤傳播的棉花病原體、苗圃的過度采集或地區(qū)火災(zāi)頻率的變化導(dǎo)致了它的死亡。

“What we have is conjecture. We really have no idea why it’s gone,” Mr. Knapp said. “But you can buy it if you go to the right place.”

“我們有的只是猜測。我們真的不知道它為什么不見了，”納普說。“但如果你去對了地方，就能看到?！?/b>

Large-flowered Barbara’s-buttons

芭芭拉鈕扣大花
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Marshallia grandiflora

Marshallia大花

How do you lose a 3-foot-tall daisy forever? By mistaking it for a different flower.

你怎么能永遠(yuǎn)失去一只3英尺高的菊科植物呢?誤以為是另一朵花。

At least, that’s what happened to Marshallia grandiflora, a large flowering plant last collected in 1919.
Native to two western counties in North Carolina, the species was, until this year, incorrectly lumped in with a different, more wide-ranging daisy.

至少，這就是發(fā)生在Marshallia大花身上的事，這是一種大型開花植物，最后一次被采集是在1919年。
這種菊科植物原產(chǎn)于北卡羅來納州的兩個西部郡，直到今年，這個物種還被錯誤地歸為另一種分布更廣的菊科植物。

In comparing current Marshallias with older herbarium specimens, a trio of botanists noticed a remarkable size and shape difference.

在比較現(xiàn)存的Marshallias標(biāo)本和更老的植物標(biāo)本時，三位植物學(xué)家注意到一個顯著的大小和形狀差異。

By the time it was first described in June, the “new” species was long extinct, for reasons that are not known. Three other extinct plants listed in the new paper were also similarly discovered in natural history collections within the last 25 years.

到今年6月首次被發(fā)現(xiàn)時，這種“新”物種已經(jīng)滅絕很久了，原因尚不清楚。在這篇新論文中列出的其他三種滅絕的植物，在過去的25年里也同樣在自然歷史收藏中被發(fā)現(xiàn)。
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“We’re still doing the basic science to untangle what the species are,” said Alan Weakley, director of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill’s Herbarium, and a co-author of the study. “There are undoubtedly more undescribed extinct species sitting in herbaria, collected 100 years ago.”

“我們?nèi)栽谶M(jìn)行基礎(chǔ)科學(xué)研究，以弄清這些物種到底是什么，”北卡羅來納大學(xué)教堂山植物標(biāo)本室主任、這項研究的合著者艾倫·威克利(Alan Weakley)說?！昂翢o疑問，在100年前收集的植物標(biāo)本中，還有更多未被描述的滅絕物種。”

Small Solomon’s Seals Variety

所羅門小海豹花


Scientists disagree on whether the melleum variety, last collected in 1930, differs enough from other Solomon’s seals to be categorized separately.

最近一次收集于1930年的小海豹花變種，與其他的所羅門海豹花是否有足夠的不同，科學(xué)家們對此意見不一。

Native Americans historically ate the young stems of Solomon’s seals, a wildflower belonging to the same family as asparagus, or cooked their starchy roots into breads and soups. Today, the species continues to be used in herbal medicine.

歷史上，印第安人吃的是所羅門海豹花的嫩莖，這是一種與蘆筍同科的野花，或者把它們含淀粉的根莖煮成面包和湯。今天，這個物種繼續(xù)被用于草藥。

While most of small Solomon’s seal is doing just fine in the wild, one of its varieties, Polygonatum biflorum var. melleum, is presumed extinct.

雖然大多數(shù)所羅門小海豹花在野外生長得很好，但它的一個變種，紅蓼變種，據(jù)推測已經(jīng)滅絕了。

Scientists are split on whether the melleum variety, last collected in 1930 and believed to be native to Michigan and Ontario, is distinct enough to be categorized apart from other Solomon’s seals.

最近一次收集于1930年的變種，被認(rèn)為是來自密歇根和安大略省，科學(xué)家們對它是否足夠明顯可以與其他的所羅門海豹花區(qū)分開來存在分歧。

“It’s really murky. The data argues it may or may not even be real,” Mr. Knapp said. “This is on the fringe.”

“這是很模糊的。數(shù)據(jù)表明，它可能是真變種，也可能不是，”納普說。“一線之差?！?/b>

While the melleum variety made the cut for August’s paper, uncertainty over the existence or status of hundreds of plants left them off the list in their study.

盡管該變種在八月份的論文中被刪除，但對數(shù)百種植物存在或狀況的不確定性使它們不在他們的研究列表中。

Thismia

水玉杯屬


A page from the University of Chicago’s Botanical Gazette, from 1914, with Norma E. Pfeiffer’s photos of Thismia americana.

《芝加哥大學(xué)植物學(xué)公報》1914年的一頁，上面有諾瑪·菲佛拍攝的這種美洲水玉杯屬的照片。

In 1912, Norma Etta Pfeiffer, a 24-year-old graduate student at the University of Chicago, made a marvelous botanical discovery near Chicago’s Lake Calumet: a truly teensy plant adorned with bead-sized flowers.

1912年，24歲的芝加哥大學(xué)研究生諾瑪·埃塔·法伊弗在芝加哥的卡盧米特湖附近發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種神奇的植物:一種點(diǎn)綴著珠狀花朵的非常嬌小的植物。

The plant, which she named Thismia Americana, belongs to a rare genus that lives as a parasite on subterranean fungi, stealing their energy instead of converting sunlight through photosynthesis.

她將這種植物命名為“美國文物水玉杯”(Thismia Americana)，屬于一種罕見的植物屬，它是寄生在地下真菌上的一種植物，它會竊取真菌的能量，而不是通過光合作用轉(zhuǎn)化陽光。
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“They’re small and cryptic and mostly underground. We don’t even know much about the ones we’ve described,” said Paul Marcum, a botanist at the Illinois Natural History Survey.

“它們很小，很神秘，大多在地下?！币晾Z斯州自然歷史調(diào)查局的植物學(xué)家保羅·馬庫姆說。

Like almost two out of three of the plants listed in August’s study, Thismia Americana is only ever known to have existed in one location, making it extremely vulnerable to any changes in land use.

就像8月份的研究中列出的三分之二的植物一樣，這種美洲植物只存在于一個地方，這使得它極易受到土地利用變化的影響。

Shortly after Dr. Pfeiffer found the centimeter-tall plant, industrial development destroyed the discovery site.

在菲佛博士發(fā)現(xiàn)這個幾厘米高的植物后不久，工業(yè)發(fā)展就破壞了發(fā)現(xiàn)地點(diǎn)。

That hasn’t kept subsequent generations of Chicagoans from hunting for it — although Field guides for Thismia seekers offer little help: “Where to look: Honestly? Your guess is as good as ours.” The species has not been spotted since 1916.

這并沒有阻止下一代芝加哥人去尋找它——盡管為尋找這種水玉杯屬植物的人提供的野外指南幾乎沒有提供什么幫助:“去哪里找:老實(shí)說?你的猜測和我們的一樣準(zhǔn)確?！边@個物種自1916年以來就沒有被發(fā)現(xiàn)過。

“It’s the holy grail,” Mr. Marcum said. “I still believe it could be out there. I think somebody will be on their hands and knees searching in the soil, and get lucky.”

“它是圣杯，”馬庫姆說。“我仍然相信它可能存在。我想會有人手腳并用地在土里搜索，并且會被幸運(yùn)之神眷顧?！?/b>
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Franciscan Manzanita

方濟(jì)會曼薩尼塔


Franciscan manzanita, still cultivated in protected spaces, is extinct in the wild.

方濟(jì)會曼薩尼塔仍在受保護(hù)的地區(qū)種植，但在野外已經(jīng)滅絕了。
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The Franciscan Manzanita has endured not one, but several brushes with extinction.

這種植物經(jīng)歷了不止一次、而是幾次滅絕。

The shrub species, Arctostaphylos franciscana, was presumed to be extinct in the wild for nearly 70 years, stamped out by construction in San Francisco’s Presidio park.

由于舊金山普雷西蒂奧公園的建設(shè)，這種灌木物種被認(rèn)為已經(jīng)在野外滅絕了近70年。

Then, in 2009, Daniel Gluesenkamp, now the executive director of the California Native Plant Society, stumbled upon Franciscan Manzanita in overgrown vegetation near the Golden Gate Bridge.

2009年，現(xiàn)任加州本土植物學(xué)會(California Native Plant Society)執(zhí)行主任的丹尼爾·格萊斯森坎普在金門大橋附近雜草叢生的植被中偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了方濟(jì)會曼薩尼塔

Unfortunately, the site of its rediscovery lay directly in the path of a “shovel ready” project. “The next best thing we could do was dig this thing up and move it,” Mr. Knapp said.

不幸的是，它被重新發(fā)現(xiàn)的地點(diǎn)正好位于一個“準(zhǔn)備就緒”項目的途徑之路上。“我們能做的第二件事就是把它挖出來，然后把它搬走，”克納普先生說。
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Conservationists relocated the shrub to a protected site and it began propagating. Like the Franklinia tree, the Franciscan Manzanita is now considered extinct in the wild.

自然資源保護(hù)主義者將這種灌木轉(zhuǎn)移到一個受保護(hù)的地方，它開始繁殖。和富蘭克林樹一樣，方濟(jì)會曼薩尼塔現(xiàn)在被認(rèn)為在野外已經(jīng)滅絕。

“Part of me is sad that we couldn’t allow it to exist in its last remaining natural spot,” Mr. Knapp said. “It’s not a great solution, but it’s much better than being extinct.”

克納普先生說，“我有些難過，我們不能讓它在最后一個僅存的自然環(huán)境中生存?！薄斑@不是一個很好的解決辦法，但比滅絕要好得多?！?br />