乌克兰苹果树王 样貌奇特年岁高

The city of Krolevets, in Ukraine’s Sumy region, is home to the world’s most unique apple garden, consisting of only one tree. Spanning 10 acres, the 220-year-old tree – known as ‘apple tree colony’ – has dozens of individually rooted trunks that constantly spring to life, making it seemingly impossible to die.

乌克兰苏梅地区的克罗列韦茨市(Krolevets)坐落着世界上最奇特的苹果园，园内竟只有一株果树。这棵名为“苹果树殖民地的果树占地10英亩，已达220岁高龄。全树有几十根树干扎根土中，枝繁叶茂，仿佛永生一般。

The tree seems to have worked out a brilliant survival strategy, and it looks prepared to survive for centuries to come. It started off as a regular tree, but as it aged, its branches bent so low to the ground that they started to take root as well. Every time one of the ingrown trunks dies, its branches immediately bend to the ground and take root. It had only nine trunks in 1970, but that number had doubled by 2008.

这棵苹果树似乎有一套独特的生长机制，再活上几百年也不是问题。它原本是棵普通的树，年复一年，枝条却渐渐低垂，扎根在了土中。每当一条枝干枯萎，便会有枝条低垂入土。1970年时，扎根的枝干只有9条，到了2008年，这个数字竟翻了一番。

Today, the tree-garden has several main trunks and dozens of rooted branches springing from each of them. It blooms every year, during the regular season, but its pink flowers are only visible on half the tree, while the other half rests. Its apples – locally known as Lozovka – are medium-sized and sweet with a slightly tart taste.

如今，果树已有几株主干，长出的几十根枝条也都扎根地下。每年花期到来，它便吐露新苞。不过，只有一半的树枝会开出粉色小花，另一半则选择休养生息。它结出的果实被当地人称作“罗索夫卡(Lozovka)，不大不小，甜中带酸。

Local legend has it that the tree was planted by Prince Peter Sergeev of the Meshchersky royal family. When he died, the tree mourned for him and its branches bent to the ground, eventually giving rise to an apple tree colony. The prince was buried under his beloved tree in 1848, and his gravestone is still visible today. Another version of the story says that the prince planted an apple tree on the grave of his wife who died when she was still young.

当地传言，此树是梅什彻斯基皇室(Meshcersky)的彼得•瑟吉夫(Peter Sergeev)王子栽下的。王子逝世时，连果树也为他哀悼，枝干垂入了地下，“苹果树殖民地由此诞生。1848年，瑟吉夫王子被葬在了他心爱的苹果树下，墓碑至今依稀可见。也有传说称，果树其实是栽在王妃之墓上的，为了纪念瑟吉夫王子英年早逝的爱人。

Some say that the tree was cursed, which is why it behaves more like a gooseberry bush than an apple tree. Several scientists have studied the tree in detail, but every attempt to recreate its survival mechanism has failed. In 1972, the tree was declared a national monument of local importance by the Sumy Regional Council. In 1998, its status was upgraded to national importance.

有人说，这株苹果树受了诅咒，因此生长方式变得如醋栗一样(注：醋栗的分枝能力很强，株丛内常能分出50多个枝)。不少科学家仔细研究了果树，却始终无法参透它的生长机制。1972年，这棵树被苏梅地区议会定为地区级保护植物，1998年又升级为国家级保护植物。