As we all know, 我們都知道

Taiwan is also known as the orchid kingdom. 臺灣也被稱為蘭花王國

Now, tucked away in the foothills of Shanshang District, 在山上區的丘陵裡

is this Orchid Botanical Garden. 有座蘭科植物園

Rumor has it that this place has more than 2500 different species of orchid flowers. 聽說這裡有超過2500種蘭花

Including some super rare types. 其中包含一些稀有種類

So, let's go and check it out. 我們快去看看吧

The founder of the Orchid Botanical Garden, 蘭科植物園的創辦人

Mr. Wu Ming-kun, 吳明坤先生

began his life-long love affair with orchids when he was 12 years old. 與蘭花的長久緣分開始於12歲

That's when he bought his first plant. 當時他買了第一盆蘭花

A few decades later, 數十年後

He has become a very successful orchid breeder and vendor, 他成為了一位成功的蘭花培育員與商人

and runs this lovely orchid garden for the public to enjoy. 也經營了一家可讓大眾參觀的美麗蘭花植物園

By the way, 對了

he's even won more than 400 awards in international orchid competitions. 他甚至也在國際蘭展中摘下超過400個獎項

We are inside the Exotic Orchid Conservation Area, 我們在珍奇蘭種保育區裡面

and how exotic they are! 它們真的都超珍奇!

Man, look at all these orchid flowers. 看看這些蘭花

You know, they look so alien, 它們看起來超奇異

it almost feels like I'm on an alien planet, 我都覺得我在外星球上了

like Pandora. 就像是潘朵拉星

Let's go and check it out. 我們快去看看

This fuzzy little plant has quite the long name. 這棵毛毛的植物有個很長的名稱

It's the Maillariella orchid. 這是一棵腋唇蘭

but you can call it the milk orchid. 但你也可以叫它牛奶蘭

Um, why? 為何呢?

Because supposedly, its flowers smell like milk. 因為聽說它的花聞起來像牛奶

But I can't really prove it to you at the moment. 但我現在無法證明給你看

Because it doesn't have any flowers. 因為它現在沒開花

This massive plant is a Grammatophyllum speciosum, 這顆超大的植物是Grammatophyllum speciosum (學名),

more commonly known as the tiger orchid. 一般也被稱為老虎蘭（巨蘭）

In fact, it's the largest orchid species in the world. 它其實是世上最大的蘭花

And this growth here, 而這株植栽

it's actually one of the largest in the world as well. 也是世上最大的之一

The other two are in Singapore, 另外兩株在新加坡

and Brooklyn, New York. 跟紐約布魯克林

It's rare to see this plant flower. 要看到這棵植物開花非常難得

In fact, the last time this guy bloomed was in 2005. 它上次開花是2005年

There are at least 25000 to 30000 species of orchid flowers in the world. 世界上至少有25000至30000種蘭花種類

Isn't that unbelievable? 是不是很難以置信呢?

But numbers aside, 但先不管數字

they are actually fairly easy to distinguish from other flowers. 它們其實滿好跟其他花朵做區分

For example, they've got three calices, 例如 他們有三片花萼

three petals, 三片花瓣

and one central stem that sticks out from the middle. 與從中間立出的蕊柱

As mentioned earlier, 稍早有提到

Taiwan is also known as the orchid kingdom, 臺灣又被稱為蘭花王國

and orchid flowers have become an integral part of Taiwanese culture, 蘭花也成為臺灣文化中不可或缺一部分

especially in celebratory events. 尤其是在慶祝的活動上

So, it can be found in all sorts of activities, 所以能在很多活動上都看到它們

like weddings, banquets, art openings or graduations. 像是婚禮、宴會、藝術展覽開幕或畢業典禮上

And sometimes, people even put them on dishes as little garnishes. 人們有時也會把蘭花放在餐盤上當點綴

Orchid flowers come in all shapes and sizes. 蘭花有各種形狀跟大小

The variety is just incredible. 種類數量真的很驚人

And I think I just found my new favorite type. 我想我剛剛找到了我最喜歡的種類

It looks a bit strange. 這看起來有點奇妙

It's a type of Dendrobium hybrid, 這是一種石斛蘭的混種

and if you look at the flowers, 若你看它的花

they look like little antelope heads. 它們看起來像小羚羊頭

Isn't that cool? 很酷吧！

I think I'm going to buy this one, actually. 我想我會買一個

Yep, I'm going to buy it. 對 我要買這一個

If you like orchid flowers, 若你喜歡蘭花

but don't like the idea of caring for your own plant, 但又不太喜歡照顧植物

Don't worry, 別擔心

they've got all sorts of orchid-inspired souvenirs here as well. 它們這裡也有很多跟以蘭花為靈感的紀念品

For example, they've got these lovely orchid coasters, 例如這些很可愛的蘭花杯墊

made with real flowers, of course. 這當然是用真花做成的

They've got little pen holders. 還有這些筆筒

They've got placemats, 桌墊

and they even have an orchid-inspired thermometer. 還有蘭花溫度計

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the Orchid Botanical Garden. 我在蘭科植物園真的玩得很開心

You know, personally I like to plant flowers myself. 我自己是很喜歡種花啦

But even if you are not into plants, 但即便你對植物沒有興趣

It's still a really cool place to visit. 這裡還是個挺酷的地方

You can come and have a nice cup of coffee with you friends. 你可以來跟朋友喝杯咖啡

So, next time you guys are in Shanshang, 若下次你們來到山上

be sure to check it out. 記得要來看看