What looks like moss covering rocks

這種外形奇怪的植物叫做緊密小鷹芹。

is actually a shrub

看起來像是岩石上長滿了苔蘚

comprised of thousands of branches,

其實是由成千上萬的

each containing clusters of tiny green leaves at the end

灌木叢的樹枝所組成的，

and so densely packed together

每個樹枝末端都有一簇小綠葉

that you could actually stand on top of it.

非常緊密扎實的包覆在一起

This individual lives in the Atacama Desert in Chile,

你甚至可以站在上面。

and it happens to be 3,000 years old.

這種植物生長在智利的阿塔卡馬沙漠，

It also happens to be a relative of parsley.

已經有3000歲了。

For the past five years, I've been researching,

它是歐芹的近親。

working with biologists

過去五年來，我一直在做研究，

and traveling all over the world

和生物學家一起工作

to find continuously living organisms

到世界各地

that are 2,000 years old and older.

尋找存活至今2000年

The project is part art and part science.

或更老的古老生物。

There's an environmental component.

這項研究既是藝術也是科學。

And I'm also trying to create a means

這其中也包括了環境因素。

in which to step outside our quotidian experience of time

同時我也試著創造一種方式

and to start to consider a deeper timescale.

試著跳脫出我們慣性的時間觀

I selected 2,000 years as my minimum age

以一種更深刻的時間觀來思考。

because I wanted to start at what we consider to be year zero

之所以選擇2000年為底限

and work backward from there.

是因為我想從西元零年開始

What you're looking at now is a tree called Jomon Sugi,

往回追朔。

living on the remote island of Yakushima.

您現在看到的這棵樹是繩文杉，

The tree was in part a catalyst for the project.

生長在人跡罕至的日本屋九島。

I'd been traveling in Japan

這項研究之所以開始有一部分就是因為這棵樹

without an agenda other than to photograph,

當時我到日本去

and then I heard about this tree

除了拍照外沒有其它的計畫，

that is 2,180 years old

我聽說了這棵

and knew that I had to go visit it.

2180歲的樹

It wasn't until later, when I was actually back home in New York

心想我一定得去看一看。

that I got the idea for the project.

後來，我回到紐約之後

So it was the slow churn, if you will.

這個研究計畫的想法才浮現腦海。

I think it was my longstanding desire

它在我的心裡慢慢持續的攪動。

to bring together my interest

我想這可以說是我多年以來的渴望

in art, science and philosophy

把我在藝術，科學及哲學上的

that allowed me to be ready

興趣結合在一起

when the proverbial light bulb went on.

讓我準備就緒

So I started researching, and to my surprise,

在靈光乍現時可以把握住機會。

this project had never been done before

我開始了研究工作，出乎我意料的是，

in the arts or the sciences.

不論是藝術或科學領域

And -- perhaps naively --

都沒有人做過相關的研究。

I was surprised to find that there isn't even an area in the sciences

或許我很天真，

that deals with this idea

我很訝異的發現在任何的科學領域裡

of global species longevity.

竟然都沒有地球物種壽命

So what you're looking at here

的相關研究。

is the rhizocarpon geographicum, or map lichen,

您現在看到的是

and this is around 3,000 years old

地圖衣屬地衣，

and lives in Greenland,

它已經有3000多歲了

which is a long way to go for some lichens.

生長在格陵蘭，

Visiting Greenland was more like

這真是一趟遙遠的旅程。

traveling back in time

去格陵蘭好像是

than just traveling very far north.

回到古代的時空之旅

It was very primal and more remote

而不僅僅是旅行到北方極地而已。

than anything I'd ever experienced before.

這比起任何我曾去過的地方

And this is heightened by a couple of particular experiences.

都要來的原始，遙遠。

One was when I had been dropped off by boat

一些特别的經驗也為此行增色不少。

on a remote fjord,

有一次我在一個

only to find that the archeologists I was supposed to meet

偏僻的峽灣下了船，

were nowhere to be found.

結果原本約好要碰頭的考古學家

And it's not like you could send them a text or shoot them an e-mail,

卻不見人影。

so I was literally left to my own devices.

又不能傳簡訊，還是發email，

But luckily, it worked out obviously,

我完全只能靠我带的裝備。

but it was a humbling experience

很幸運，我安然無恙。

to feel so disconnected.

覺得完全與世隔絕的經驗

And then a few days later,

讓我感到謙卑、渺小。

we had the opportunity to go fishing in a glacial stream

幾天後，

near our campsite,

我們有機會去紮營附近

where the fish were so abundant

的冰川釣魚，

that you could literally reach into the stream

那裡魚好多好多

and grab out a foot-long trout with your bare hands.

多到你只要把手伸進河裡

It was like visiting

就可以徒手抓起一條一尺長的鱒魚。

a more innocent time on the planet.

這就好像回到

And then, of course, there's the lichens.

地球純真美好的年代。

These lichens grow only one centimeter

當然，那時也有地衣。

every hundred years.

這些地衣一百年

I think that really puts human lifespans

只長一公分。

into a different perspective.

我認為這真的賦予人類的生命周期

And what you're looking at here

一個不同的觀點。

is an aerial photo take over eastern Oregon.

您現在看到的是

And if the title "Searching for Armillaria Death Rings,"

俄勒岡州東部的空拍照片。

sounds ominous, it is.

「尋找蜜環菌死亡圈」

The Armillaria is actually a predatory fungus,

聽起來很不吉利，而事實就是如此。

killing certain species of trees in the forest.

蜜環菌是一種掠食性真菌，

It's also more benignly known

在森林裡掠殺某些樹種。

as the honey mushroom or the "humongous fungus"

我們給了它一個好聽的名字

because it happens to be

叫蜜環菌，或巨大菇

one of the world's largest organisms as well.

因為它是

So with the help of some biologists studying the fungus,

全世界最大的生物之一。

I got some maps and some GPS coordinates

在幾位研究蜜環菌的生物學家的幫助下，

and chartered a plane

我帶了幾張地圖，幾台全球衛星定位系統

and started looking for the death rings,

租了一架飛機

the circular patterns

開始尋找死亡圈，

in which the fungus kills the trees.

一種因為菌類啃食

So I'm not sure if there are any in this photo,

樹木而形成的圓形區域。

but I do know the fungus is down there.

我不確定這張照片中是否有任何我所要找的死亡圈，

And then this back down on the ground

但是我知道蜜環菌就在這裡。

and you can see that the fungus is actually invading this tree.

就在這片土地底下，

So that white material that you see

你可以看到蜜環菌正在侵蝕這棵樹。

in between the bark and the wood

您所看到在樹皮與樹

is the mycelial felt of the fungus,

之間的白色的東西

and what it's doing -- it's actually

就是蜜環菌的菌絲叢，

slowly strangling the tree to death

事實上它正在做的是

by preventing the flow of water and nutrients.

阻斷水和養分的運輸

So this strategy has served it pretty well --

慢慢的讓這棵樹窒息而死。

it's 2,400 years old.

這種策略相當的成功。

And then from underground to underwater.

蜜環菌已經存活了2400年了。

This is a Brain Coral living in Tobago

好，看完地底，再來看看水底。

that's around 2,000 years old.

這是生存於多巴哥海岸的腦珊瑚

And I had to overcome my fear of deep water to find this one.

約有2000多歲了。

This is at about 60 feet

我必須克服對於深水的恐懼去尋找它。

or 18 meters, depth.

它位於水深約60英呎，

And you'll see, there's some damage to the surface of the coral.

18公尺的深度。

That was actually caused by a school of parrot fish

各位可以看見腦珊瑚表面有些損傷。

that had started eating it,

這因為一群鸚鵡魚

though luckily, they lost interest before killing it.

吃了它一段時間，

Luckily still, it seems to be out of harm's way

幸好，鸚鵡魚在殺死腦珊瑚之前就對它沒興趣了。

of the recent oil spill.

更幸運的是，最近的原油外漏汙染

But that being said, we just as easily could have lost

好像没有沒有影響到它。

one of the oldest living things on the planet,

雖說如此，我們很可能失去

and the full impact of that disaster

地球上任何古老的生物，

is still yet to be seen.

而此一災難的全面性影響為何

Now this is something that I think

我們仍無法預料。

is one of the most quietly resilient things on the planet.

這是我認為

This is clonal colony

在這個星球上擁有最佳適應力物種之一。

of Quaking Aspen trees, living in Utah,

它是無性繁殖菌落

that is literally 80,000 years old.

寄生在美國猶他州的白楊樹上，

What looks like a forest

事實上它已經存活了八萬年之久。

is actually only one tree.

看起來像是一片森林

Imagine that it's one giant root system

其實是同一棵樹。

and each tree is a stem

可以把它想像成是一個龐大的根系統

coming up from that system.

而每一棵樹都是

So what you have is one giant,

從這個系統長出來的莖。

interconnected,

所以這一整片樹林是一個巨大無比，

genetically identical individual

彼此連結，

that's been living for 80,000 years.

基因相同的一棵

It also happens to be male

已經有八萬歲的樹。

and, in theory immortal.

而且這棵樹是雄性植株，

(Laughter)

從理論來說它可以長生不老。

This is a clonal tree as well.

（笑聲）

This is the spruce Gran Picea,

這棵樹也是無性繁殖的。

which at 9,550 years

它是雲杉，

is a mere babe in the woods.

已經有9550歲了，

The location of this tree

但是在樹林裡它只是個小baby。

is actually kept secret for its own protection.

為了保護這棵樹

I spoke to the biologist who discovered this tree,

它的位置我們不對外透露。

and he told me that that spindly growth you see there in the center

我和發現它的生物學家談過，

is most likely a product of climate change.

他說位於中間的細長的植株

As it's gotten warmer on the top of the mountain,

極有可能是氣候變遷的產物。

the vegetation zone is actually changing.

隨著山頂氣溫升高，

So we don't even necessarily have to have

植被帶也隨之改變。

direct contact with these organisms

我們不需和這些植物

to have a very real impact on them.

有直接的接觸

This is the Fortingall Yew --

就可以對它們產生實際的衝擊。

no, I'm just kidding --

這是福廷加爾紫杉。

this is the Fortingall Yew.

不是啦，開個玩笑。

(Laughter)

這才是福廷加爾紫杉。

But I put that slide in there

（笑聲）

because I'm often asked if there are any animals in the project.

我放那張幻灯片是因為

And aside from coral,

常常有人問我這個研究裡有沒有動物。

the answer is no.

答案是：除了珊瑚之外，

Does anybody know how old the oldest tortoise is --

沒有。

any guesses?

有人知道最老的烏龜幾歲？

(Audience: 300.)

猜猜看？

Rachel Sussman: 300? No, 175

（聽眾：300歲。）

is the oldest living tortoise,

300歲？其實現存

so nowhere near 2,000.

最老的陸龜是175歲，

And then, you might have heard

離兩千歲還差得很遠。

of this giant clam that was discovered

各位可能聽說

off the coast of northern Iceland

在冰島北部外海

that reached 405 years old.

發現了

However, it died in the lab

405歲的巨蛤。

as they were determining its age.

但是它在科學家在實驗室裡

The most interesting discovery of late, I think

鑑定它的年紀時死掉了。

is the so-called immortal jellyfish,

我想，最有意思的新發現，

which has actually been observed in the lab

是被稱之為燈塔水母的動物，

to be able to be able to revert back to the polyp state

在實驗室裡觀察到

after reaching full maturity.

它在達到完全成熟階段後

So that being said,

能够回復到水螅蟲的狀態。

it's highly unlikely that any jellyfish would survive that long in the wild.

雖然這麼說，

And back to the yew here.

任何一種水母不太可能在自然環境下生存那麼久。

So as you can see, it's in a churchyard;

再回來看紫杉。

it's in Scotland. It's behind a protective wall.

如您所見，它生長在一個教堂的院子裡。

And there are actually a number or ancient yews

在蘇格蘭。有圍牆保護著。

in churchyards around the U.K.,

其實有許多古老的紫杉生長在

but if you do the math, you'll remember

全英國各地的教堂的院子裡，

it's actually the yew trees that were there first, then the churches.

如果你推算一下，不難明白

And now down to another part of the world.

這些古老的紫杉早在教堂建立之前，就已經生長在那裏了。

I had the opportunity to travel around the Limpopo Province in South Africa

現在來看看世界上另一個地方。

with an expert in Baobab trees.

我有幸跟隨一位猴麵包樹的專家

And we saw a number of them,

去了南非的林波波省。

and this is most likely the oldest.

我們看到了很多猴麵包樹，

It's around 2,000,

這一顆很有可能是最老的。

and it's called the Sagole Baobab.

大約有2000歲了，

And you know, I think of all of these organisms

叫做Sagole猴麵包樹。（Sagole：南非北省）

as palimpsests.

我認為這所有的生物

They contain thousands of years

具有多重的意義。

of their own histories within themselves,

它們的內在蘊含了

and they also contain records of natural and human events.

千萬年的生命軌跡，

And the Baobabs in particular

它們也記錄著大自然和人類的歷史事件。

are a great example of this.

尤其是猴麵包樹

You can see that this one

更是極佳的例子。

has names carved into its trunk,

這一顆樹的樹幹上

but it also records some natural events.

刻著許多名字在上面，

So the Baobabs, as they get older,

它同時也記錄著一些自然事件。

tend to get pulpy in their centers and hollow out.

當猴麵包樹年歲漸長時，

And this can create

樹幹中心會變成漿狀的汁液而最後變成空心的。

great natural shelters for animals,

這麼一來它就成為

but they've also been appropriated

動物們極佳的天然棲身所了，

for some rather dubious human uses,

但是它們也被人類

including a bar, a prison

拿來用在一些不太好的用途，

and even a toilet inside of a tree.

空心的樹幹被當作酒吧，監獄

And this brings me to another favorite of mine --

甚至是廁所。

I think, because it is just so unusual.

現在來看一個我最喜愛的—

This plant is called the Welwitschia,

因為它實在是太與眾不同了。

and it lives only in parts of coastal Namibia and Angola,

這個植物叫百歲蘭，

where it's uniquely adapted

它只生長在納米比亞和安哥拉部分海岸地區，

to collect moisture from mist coming off the sea.

它發展出獨特的功能

And what's more, it's actually a tree.

能夠從海上漂來的霧氣收集水分。

It's a primitive conifer.

而且，它其實是一顆樹。

You'll notice that it's bearing cones down the center.

是一種原始的針葉樹。

And what looks like two big heaps of leaves,

你可以在底下中間看到它結了球果。

is actually two single leaves

看起來像堆積成兩大落的葉子呢，

that get shredded up

其實是兩片樹葉

by the harsh desert conditions over time.

因為沙漠嚴峻的氣候

And it actually never sheds those leaves,

經年累月把葉子切割成現在的樣子。

so it also bears the distinction

這些葉子從未脱落過，

of having the longest leaves

所以百歲蘭的特徵就是

in the plant kingdom.

它的樹葉是

I spoke to a biologist

植物界中最長的。

at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Capetown

我請教過開普敦的

to ask him

康斯坦博西國家植物園

where he thought this remarkable plant came from,

的生物學家

and his thought was that

問他這令人驚艷的百歲蘭是從哪裡來的，

if you travel around Namibia,

他的看法是，

you see that there are a number of petrified forests,

如果你周遊納米比亞，

and the logs are all --

你會發現有一些石化林，

the logs are all giant coniferous trees,

石化林的樹木—

and yet there's no sign of where they might have come from.

全都是巨大的針葉樹，

So his thought was that

但是没有任何跡象顯示它們的原生地是哪裡。

flooding in the north of Africa

因此他認為

actually brought those coniferous trees down

千萬年前

tens of thousands of years ago,

非洲北部的洪水帶著這些

and what resulted was this remarkable adaptation

針葉樹的種子流向南方，

to this unique desert environment.

造就了了不起的適應力

This is what I think is the most poetic of the oldest living things.

以存活在獨特的沙漠環境中。

This is something called an underground forest.

我認為這是這些最古老的生物最具詩意的部分。

So, I spoke to a botanist at the Pretoria Botanical Garden,

這是被稱之為地下森林的植物。

who explained that certain species of trees

我問過普利托里亞植物園的植物學家，