文/ 伊丽莎白·佩因 译/索奇伟

For British plant hunter John Wood,few endeavors are quite as satisfying as retracing the steps of an 18thcentury explorer.

对英国植物猎人约翰·伍德来说，几乎没有哪项事业能像追寻18 世纪探险家的脚步那样令人满足。

2It may seem old-fashioned, but plant collecting is still an important scientific endeavor.“That is the primary way we discover new species,” writes Gerrit Davidse, a researcher and curator of grasses at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St.Louis, Missouri.

2植物采集看似早已过时，实则仍是一项重要的科学事业。格里特·戴维兹是密苏里州圣路易斯市密苏里植物园的研究员兼草本园负责人。他写道：“这是我们发现新物种的主要方式。”

3Today, medicines, vehicles, and GPS have made the work of plant collectors safer and a bit easier, but the basic techniques and challenges remain the same.It takes a particular set of skills and personal attributes to do the job.“These individuals are selfmotivated, have the ability to withstand hardship, probably have a great eye and photographic memory,” writes Robert Scotland, a reader1reader（英国仅次于教授的）高级讲师。in systematic botany at the University of Oxford in the United K i n g d o m.

3如今，虽然医疗药品、交通工具和全球定位系统为植物采集工作者创造了更加安全和较为便利的条件，但植物采集的基本技术和所面对的挑战与以往无异。做这项工作需要具备一套特定的技能和个人素质。英国牛津大学系统植物学高级讲师罗伯特·斯科特兰表示：“这群人善于自我激励，能够承受困难，可能还独具慧眼，有过目不忘的本领。”

4Such individuals must also have a thirst for adventure and be willing to sacrifice some comfort and job security.Most plant hunters either live on shortterm contracts or take permanent positions with other responsibilities.But for passionate plant collectors, the thrill of the hunt is difficult to match.

4植物猎人还必须渴望冒险，愿意舍弃舒适条件和工作保障。他们中的大多数人以短期合同为生，或者有其他固定岗位的工作。但对狂热的植物采集者来说，“狩猎”的刺激感是无可比拟的。

Doing the picking

5At its simplest level, all you need to collect plants is a notebook, a plant press,and some newspapers for drying.What sets professional collectors apart from amateurs is the ability to find new and interesting material.“Good observational skills and knowledge of a local flora are very important,” Davidse writes.

6Then, one needs to know how to harvest scientifically useful material.For traditional taxonomic studies, it is important to harvest specimens that include “fruits and flowers, and the root systems; something that shows what the plant generally looks like,” Wood says.It takes practical expertise to adequately dry and preserve plants—and keep them that way all the way back to the institution, Wood says.

7Just as important is to record complete data, including the date and place of collection, what the plant looked like,the environment in which it was found,and geographical features like altitude,says Mark Watson, a principal scientific officer at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.“It’s going to take you quite a long time to get everything together,” including good digital photographs of the plant,so patience is important, he says.

采集植物

5简单来说，采集植物只需要一个笔记本、一台植物压平器和几张用于干燥的报纸。专业采集者区别于业余采集者的地方在于，他们具备发现新鲜有趣材料的能力。戴维兹写道：“良好的观察能力和对当地植物群的了解非常重要。”

6此外，植物猎人需要知道如何获取可用于科学研究的材料。伍德说，就传统的分类学研究而言，重点在于获取包括“果实、花朵、根系的标本，也就是能够显示植物大致形态的东西”。他表示，要想充分干燥和保存植物，再将它们原封不动地一路运回相关机构，需要具备实用的专业技能。

7英国爱丁堡皇家植物园首席科学官马克·沃森表示，记录完整的数据同样重要，包括采集日期和地点、植物形态、发现地的环境以及海拔等地理特征。沃森说：“收集所有的数据要花费大把时间。”他表示，其中还包括清晰的植物数码照片，所以耐心很重要。

准备实地考察

8如今，大型实地考察活动大多在发展中国家进行，因为这些国家的植物群通常未得到充分研究。除了一贯的旅行准备工作（接种疫苗、规划如何到达目的地等）外，你还需要与当地的植物学家建立密切联系，并获得植物所在国的各项相关许可。如果你打算运送活体植物，还要获得接收国的各项相关许可。

Preparing for an expedition

8Nowadays, most major expeditions are in developing countries because the flora there tends to be less well-explored.Outside of the obvious logistics of traveling—getting vaccinations, mapping out how to get to your destination, and so on—you need to build strong contacts with local botanists and obtain all the relevant permissions from the host country, as well as from the receiving country if you intend to ship living plants.

9You also need to take care of the logistics of the field trips, from arranging to take along sufficient food and water to hiring people to help.Wood likes to travel light, so he generally limits his treks to 4 days before returning to the base, usually taking a local guide, friend,or collaborator with him.Watson mostly goes on much longer, collaborative expeditions, up to 4 weeks.“To get five botanists on a trek-based expedition in Nepal takes about 40 staff on the trekking side to help you,” including porters, cooking staff, and Sherpa2夏尔巴人，生活在尼泊尔境内喜马拉雅山脉南坡，被称为“喜马拉雅山上的挑夫”。guides, he says.

9你还应该关注实地考察过程中的后勤保障，比如备足随身携带的口粮和水、雇用帮手。伍德喜欢轻装上阵，一般将徒步考察时间限制在4 天，然后返回基地。其间，他通常会带上一名当地向导、一位朋友，或者一个合作伙伴。沃森主要进行长期的协作考察，最长可达四周。沃森说：“要组织5 位植物学家在尼泊尔进行一次徒步考察，途中需要大约40 名工作人员帮忙。”他表示，其中包括搬运工、厨师和夏尔巴人向导。

10While planning is important, you must be prepared to improvise3improvise 临时应对。.Also difficult to know in advance is exactly how you are going to operate once you are there, so make sure you take sufficient equipment along with you or ship things ahead of time so that you can improvise solutions.

10计划固然重要，但也要做好随机应变的准备。同样难预料的是抵达考察地点后如何开展工作，所以要确保随身携带充足的装备，或者提前将所需物资运抵现场，以便灵活应对。

Working and living in the wild

11Often, the most interesting places to collect plants are the most difficult to access and live in.

12Be prepared to spend days trekking,cutting through forests using a machete,and climbing up and down cliffs and trees.You also need to be able to tolerate nuisances such as plants that can provoke allergic reactions, ticks that get inside your clothes, and bees that attack if you disturb their nests.Weather conditions can be inconvenient, Watson says.Roads can be so muddy that you get stuck, adds Wood.

13Staying well and safe is especially important in the field.Dangers include close encounters with wild animals like snakes, getting lost, and being caught in the middle of conflicts.Many of the more interesting areas for plants are politically difficult, Wood says.“I’ve had bullets going over my head in Yemen,not aimed at me, but getting caught in between two groups fighting each other.”

野外工作和生活

11采集植物的绝妙之地通常在最难以到达、最不宜居住的地方。

12准备好花费数日跋山涉水，挥舞砍刀在林中劈出道路，上下攀爬悬崖和树木。你还得学会忍受各种烦人的东西，比如引起过敏的植物、钻进衣服的壁虱，还有因为你打扰其巢穴而叮咬你的蜜蜂。沃森说，天气条件也可能带来不便。伍德补充说，道路可能非常泥泞，让你举步维艰。

13在野外，保证健康和安全尤为重要。危险多种多样，诸如近距离接触毒蛇等野生动物、迷失方向、陷入各种冲突等。正如伍德所说，植物生长的奇趣之地有许多位于政治动荡区域。“在也门，有子弹从我头上飞过，不是冲我来的，而是我困在了交战双方的战火之中。”

Career prospects

14A common way to get started is on your own, by walking around your local countryside armed with a flora and a glossary of terms.

职业前景

14成为植物猎人的一种常用方法是，亲自带着植物志和术语表到你所在地的乡村走一走。

15But the best way to learn is to do fieldwork with experienced collectors.You can find such opportunities by associating with a botanical institute, a natural history society, or a research team.

15但最好的学习方法是与有经验的采集者一起实地考察。你可以与植物研究所、博物学会或研究团队联系，找到相关机会。

16The difficulty comes when you are trying to make a career out of it.Most plant collectors live off a series of shortterm grants, and often, plant collecting is only part of their work, Scotland says.If you’re lucky, you may be able to land4land 成功得到，赢得，捞到（尤指许多人想得到的工作）。one of the few short-term positions on offer at botanical gardens, museums,government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental protection and conservation programs, Davidse says.

16如果你试图以此为生，困难就会随之而来。斯科特兰表示，大多数植物采集者靠连续的短期补助维持生活，而且采集植物通常只是他们工作的一部分。戴维兹说，幸运的话，你可能会在植物园、博物馆、政府机构、非政府组织，或者环保项目组，从为数不多的短期岗位中谋得一职。

17The other approach is to seek a permanent position at a university or a research institution—but these stable jobs are usually much broader.“Plant collecting, although vital, difficult and demanding, is not particularly recognized academically and therefore is often an adjunct to other activities,” Scotland writes.

17另一种方法是在大学或研究所寻求一个固定岗位，但通常这类稳定工作的研究范围要广得多。斯科特兰写道：“虽然植物采集工作至关重要，而且难度大、要求高，但学界并不是特别认可，因此往往作为其他活动的辅助活动而展开。”

18Nowadays, “If anyone comes to you and says, ‘I want a career in plant collecting,’ the honest answer is saying ‘forget it,’” says Wood, who started collecting plants as a volunteer while working as an English teacher in developing countries.Over the years, and without formal training, Wood has been able to build up an extensive publication record and collect more than a hundred new species.“Certainly, contributing to research which enables botany or science to advance is satisfying,” he says.■

18如今，“如果有人对你说‘我想从事植物采集工作’，那么最真诚的答复便是‘算了吧’。” 伍德表示。在发展中国家当英语老师期间，伍德作为志愿者开始采集植物。多年来，尽管从未接受过正规培训，他却已经拥有可观的出版记录，并采集了100 多个新物种。他表示：“当然，能够为推动植物学或科学进步的研究作出贡献，我心满意足。” □