种出个地球（1）

A particular, a habaneros chilli...
也就是世界上最辣的辣椒之一
...which is supposed to be one of the most powerful in the world.
有一种化学药剂叫做辣椒素
There's a chemical in here called capsicum...
这里面就有
that is contained in the fruit.
其实它本质上来讲是一种毒素
And that essentially is a toxin.
也就是说 在这一时刻
Which is, at this precise moment,
我嘴里的烧灼感和刺痛感都是它引起的
burning and inflaming all of my mouth.
好辣啊
Oh, my gosh!
要知道 那些苏铁属植物的毒素
The thing is, the toxins in the cycads were...
可比这些辣椒要强多了
they were far more powerful even than the chillis.
天啊
Oh, my gosh!
所以你可以想象一下
So you can imagine what...
那些恐龙将需要忍♥耐多么强烈的刺♥激♥
the dinosaurs would have had to endure.
好辣啊 我得
Oh, my... I'm going to have to...
我都说不出来有多辣了
Can't even say how sore that is!
他们说 吃个辣椒吧
Eat a chilli, they said.
会很有趣的
It'll be funny, they said.
知道吗 别说苏铁植物了
You know what? Forget about cycads.
就这小玩意都能放倒一只70吨♥重的蜥脚龙了
That could have brought down a 70-tonne sauropod.
而植物间的军备竞赛并未就此停止
And the arms race didn't stop there.
植物们进化出了一种新策略
Plants evolved a new tactic.
这种策略的重点不是防御 而是沟通
Not so much a line of defence as a line of communication.
我们知道当某些植物受到攻击时
We know when some plents are attacked,
它们会激活一种能快速生成的
they activate a quick-acting toxin
毒素来阻止食草动物
that deters herbivores.
而现在我们发现更为强劲的植物防卫机制
Now we're discovering that this defence goes even further,
因为植物可以警告其它植物
because plants can actually warn other plants
有食草动物在食用它们
that a herbivore is eating them.
最终 埃克塞特大学的科学家们
And at last, scientists here at Exeter University
开始"倾听"植物之间的隐秘对话
are beginning to listen in to this hidden conversation.
它们发现当植物被攻击时
They're finding that when plants are attacked,
它们会从叶子中释放一种无色无味的气体
they also release an unseen gas from their leaves.
这是一种绝妙的机制
What it does is extraordinary.
而这将会是史无前例地采用特殊成像技术
And this will be the first time it's been captured on film
来拍摄到这种气体
using specialist imagery.
这两株阿♥拉♥伯芥将被放进一个密闭的箱体
These two Arabidopsis plants are being put inside a chamber.
再模拟被动物食用来剪第三株阿♥拉♥伯芥
A third plant is then cut to mimic an attack.
然后把它放在这两株完好的植株旁
It's added to the undamaged plants.
密封好箱体
The chamber is sealed.
植株的叶片开始释放出警告气体
The plant leaves are now releasing the gas.
如此一来
As they do so,
它们的生化反应就会被显示在屏幕上
their biological activity can be seen changing.
见证奇迹的时刻到了
Something remarkable happens.
这种气体激发了旁边两株植物的
The gas triggers a change in the biological activity
一系列的生化反应
in the two neighbouring plants.
它们收到了警告袭击来临的信息
They have detected the message
随后 它们也开启了防卫机制
warning them to protect themselves.
科学家们还无法掌握植物密语的全部细节
Scientists don't know all the detail of this plant language,
但它们相信
but increasingly they believe
我们周遭的植物们都在窃窃私语
there's a chatter between plants all around us.
我想大多数人都认为植物们
I think most people assume
过着一种逆来顺受的生活
that plants lead a rather passive life.
它们静止不动 没有反应
That they're static and unresponsive
但事实不是这样的
That's just not true.
实际上它们能动 能感应 能交流
In reality they move, they sense, they communicate.
这几乎达到了我们对于智能的定义标准
It's almost as if they show a kind of intelligence.
两亿年以来 恐龙和植物们
For 200 million years, the dinosaurs and the plants
都在进行一场史诗般的进化之旅
were locked in a titanic evolutionary battle,
它们都力争取得更高的进化地位
each trying to gain the upper hand.
而有些植物在进化过程中
But it was now that some plants
使用了它们的王牌武器
played their trump card.
它们利用树的木质部越长越高
They used wood to grow taller and taller.
在加州内华达山脉中
In California's Sierra Nevada,
我将会知道它们到底能长多高
I'm about to find out just how tall.
为此 我需要生物学家吉姆·史克勒的帮助
To do that, I need the help of biologist Jim Spickler.
这样就准备好了
I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
慢慢来 有的是时间
Take your time. We've got time.
我肯定慢慢来 必须的
I was going to, absolutely.
这种树代表了植物界中的高度
This is the grandest example of them all.
美洲巨杉
The giant sequoia.
你是绝对不敢想象这种树的高度的
What you see is just impossible for your mind to process.
它是如此的巨大
The scale is so large.
这感觉真的太妙了
It's extraordinary.
感觉我像是生活在中土世界
I feel as if I'm in Lord of the Rings.
多棒的树啊
What a great tree!
七千万年以前
70 million years ago,
美洲巨杉的祖先
the ancestors of this type of tree,
针叶杉 长得更高
the conifers, got ever taller.
这是终极的植物工程
This was the ultimate in plant construction.
针叶杉好比超大号♥的美洲巨杉
Conifers like the giant sequoias
把宝贵的叶子高举向天空
raised their precious leaves out of reach.
恐龙已经不再是地球上最大的生物体了
The dinosaurs were no longer the biggest organisms on Earth.
这一称号♥落在这些植物王国的巨人们头上
That title had been well and truly won back
真是实至名归
by these giants of the plant kingdom
真是太高了 我还得再
This is so tall, but I've still got...
我不知道 还有三分之一吧
I don't know, another third to go.
长得这么高的树
By using wood to grow really tall like this,
会比其他植物有一种绝佳的优势
it gave trees another advantage over plants
因为它可以第一个得到最强的太阳光照射
because it allowed them first pick of the sun's strongest rays.
当然 对植物来说 有光才有一切
The thing is, of course, for plants, light means success.
如果你有一张七千万年以前
If you had a satellite image
恐龙时代的卫星图片
of the dinosaur era 70 million years ago,
你会发现一张前所未见的地球美景
you'd see the Earth like it had never been before
同时也是空前绝后的
and never would be again.
那时气候异常温暖 覆盖两极的不是冰块
The climate was so warm the poles had no ice.
而是成片的针叶林
Instead they were covered with conifers -
形成了广袤的极地雨林
a vast polar forest.
而这些美洲巨杉不仅仅分布在
And the mighty sequoia trees were not just found
内华达的一小片区域中
in small areas of the Sierra Nevada, as they are today.
而是遍布全球
They were global.
从太平洋沿岸一直到
Stretching along the Pacific coast
澳大利亚都有它们的身影
and as far south as Australia.
还要多远才能到树顶啊
How far are we from the top, then?
就快了
We're getting close.
真是太美妙了
Ah! It's extraordinary.
就是这了 这就是树顶了
This is it. This is the top of the tree.
真不敢相信
Unbelievable!
真是难以想象 只靠二氧化碳
It's staggering to think that using just a gas, carbon dioxide,
液体和水
and a liquid, water,
以及身边光的能量就能
together with light energy from beyond our world,
就能长成这九十米高的巨树
you can construct a cathedral of wood 90 metres tall.
自植物及其祖先出现伊始
Since they first appeared,
它们就彻底改变了我们的星球
plants and their ancestors have revolutionised our planet.
它们造出氧气形成大气层
They created oxygen for the atmosphere...
也让它们能够征服陆地
..Which would allow them to conquer the land
还把岩石变为土壤
and transform rock into soil,
还成为了万千生命的养料
in turn fuelling the explosion of all life.
把地球从寸草不生的贫瘠之地
From a barren alien planet,
变成欣欣向荣的生命摇篮
plants have made a living Earth.
若无变故 地球也将继续这样
And left on its own, the world would have continued like this,
被巨型恐龙和无尽的雨林统治
dominated by large dinosaurs and endless forests.
但是在六千五百万年前
But 65 million years ago,
有样东西改变了一切
something happened that would change everything.
它造成了一系列戏剧性的后果
A chance event that would have dramatic consequences
不仅影响植物 还有所有生命
not just for plants but for all life
然而它并非地球自身的产物
And it would originate not on Earth,
而是来自外太空
but in outer space.
这颗小行星使恐龙遭受到灭绝之灾
The asteroid would kill off the dinosaurs.
而下一集我们将一同见证
And the next chapter would see the triumph
一群新型植物所获得的伟大胜利
of a whole new group of plants...
花朵充当了植物与动物间的纽带