探索切尔西草药园的剧毒植物(上)

So the apothecaries founded this space as somewhere where they could train their students in how to identify medicinal plants from harmful plants—plants that can kill and cure, so to speak.药剂师们建立这个场所是为了训练药学生如何从有害植物中识别药用植物，也就是说，这些植物既能杀死人又能治愈人。In London’s neighborhood of Chelsea, next to the river Thames and enclosed by a tall brick wall, is a collection of poisonous plants that can kill you. 在伦敦的切尔西区，泰晤士河畔，被一堵高高的砖墙包围着的，是一系列可以致人死亡的有毒植物。There are also plants that can treat you when you’re sick and even plants that many of our modern medicines are derived from.也有一些是可以治疗疾病的植物，甚至我们的许多现代药都提取自这些植物。I’m Shayla Love, and you’re listening to Scientific American’s Science, Quickly. 我是谢拉·洛夫，您正在收听的是《科学美国人》的“科学快播”栏目。Today we’re paying a visit to the Chelsea Physic Garden—one of the oldest botanical gardens in Europe, with four acres dedicated to the ancient science of healing.今天我们要去参观切尔西药材园，这是欧洲最古老的植物园之一，占地四英亩，专门用于古科学疗法。When I first walk inside, it looks like a typical garden. 当我第一次入园时，它看起来与平常的花园无异。There’s a gravel path that crunches under my feet and twists and turns through crowded plant beds. 一条砾石铺成的小路在我的脚下发出嘎吱的响声，这条小路蜿蜒曲折地穿过拥挤的植床。But after glancing at the map, it becomes clear I’m in a different kind of garden. 但在瞥了一眼地图后，我发现自己置身于一个不同的植物园中。On my right is a “poison bed,” where the plant signs also include a skull and crossbones. 我的右边是一个“有毒植床”，那边的植物标识包含一个骷髅头和交叉骨形。Maybe we can go to the poisonous plants because I feel like that’s probably a big draw.也许我们可以去看有毒植物，因为我觉得这些植物具有很大的吸引力。Yeah....是的…You don’t see that often in botanical gardens. 这在植物园里可不常见。No....不常见…That’s adjacent to the Garden of Useful Plants, which contains plants associated with scientific developments of the past and present. 这些有毒植物与“药用植物园”相邻，“药用植物园”包含了过去和现在科学发展的相关植物。I’m a science journalist and I was like, oooh, the medical plants, it was just, like, a perfect overlap of my interests....我是一名科学记者，药用植物与我的兴趣完全重合......Yeah....是的…They are devoted to different parts of the body: the heart, nervous system, stomach.它们作用于身体的不同部位：心脏、神经系统、胃。This ... here, we’ve got hemlock.这个......这里，我们发现了毒芹。That’s Frances Sampayo.这是弗朗西斯·桑佩奥。I’m deputy director of visitor experience at Chelsea Physic Garden. 我是切尔西药材园游客体验部的副主任。In the poison bed, Frances is showing me hemlock, a highly poisonous, herbaceous flowering plant. 在有毒植床区，弗朗西斯正在给我看毒芹，这是一种剧毒的草本开花植物。You can see this kind of, like, purple stem. 你可以看到茎干为紫色。And in the last three weeks this has gone from having all white flowers and small clusters into, you know, kind of the later part of its life cycle. And it’s really dangerous to consume.三周前，毒芹开出一簇簇白色的小花团，如今它已进入生命周期的最后阶段。食用毒芹真的很危险。A hemlock drink, as some of you probably know, is what killed Socrates. 你们可能知道，毒芹汁害死了苏格拉底。Right next to the hemlock is an edible plant called sweet cicely. 紧挨着毒芹的是一种可食用的植物，叫做甜芹。The two look uncomfortably alike.令人毛骨悚然的是，这两种植物长得很像。Yeah, so the leaves are really similar.是的，它们的叶子非常相似。In an earlier part of their life cycle, both cicely and hemlock have white flowers. 在生命周期的早期阶段，甜芹和毒芹都开着白色的花。The side-by-side placement of these two plants is intentional.这两种植物并排放置是有意的。It’s a representation of the Physic Garden’s original purpose: to teach young apothecary apprentices how to tell the difference between toxic and nontoxic plants.这代表了药材园的最初目的: 教授年轻的药剂师学徒如何区分有毒和无毒植物。