万物简史英文版_比尔·布莱森-第67章

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ery　strange；鈥潯�he　said。　鈥渢hat　used　to　be　botany　back　there。鈥潯�he　puncheda　button　for　another　floor；　and　we　found　our　way　at　length　to　botany　by　means　of　backstaircases　and　discreet　trespass　through　yet　more　departments　where　investigators　toiledlovingly　over　once…living　objects。　and　so　it　was　that　i　was　introduced　to　len　ellis　and　thequiet　world　of　bryophytes鈥攎osses　to　the　rest　of　us。

when　emerson　poetically　noted　that　mosses　favor　the　north　sides　of　trees　（鈥渢he　moss　uponthe　forest　bark；　was　pole…star　when　the　night　was　dark鈥潱�　he　really　meant　lichens；　for　in　thenineteenth　century　mosses　and　lichens　weren鈥檛　distinguished。　true　mosses　aren鈥檛　actuallyfussy　about　where　they　grow；　so　they　are　no　good　as　natural　passes。　in　fact；　mosses　aren鈥檛actually　much　good　for　anything。　鈥減erhaps　no　great　group　of　plants　has　so　few　uses；mercial　or　economic；　as　the　mosses；鈥潯�wrote　henry　s。　conard；　perhaps　just　a　touch　sadly；in　how　to　know　the　mosses　and　liverworts；　published　in　1956　and　still　to　be　found　on　manylibrary　shelves　as　almost　the　only　attempt　to　popularize　the　subject。

they　are；　however；　prolific。　even　with　lichens　removed；　bryophytes　is　a　busy　realm；　withover　ten　thousand　species　contained　within　some　seven　hundred　genera。　the　plump　andstately　moss　flora　of　britain　and　ireland　by　a。　j。　e。　smith　runs　to　seven　hundred　pages；　andbritain　and　ireland　are　by　no　means　outstandingly　mossy　places。　鈥渢he　tropics　are　where　youfind　the　variety；鈥潯�len　ellis　told　me。　a　quiet；　spare　man；　he　has　been　at　the　natural　historymuseum　for　twenty…seven　years　and　curator　of　the　department　since　1990。　鈥測ou　can　go　outinto　a　place　like　the　rain　forests　of　malaysia　and　find　new　varieties　with　relative　ease。　i　didthat　myself　not　long　ago。　i　looked　down　and　there　was　a　species　that　had　never　beenrecorded。鈥�

鈥渟o　we　don鈥檛　know　how　many　species　are　still　to　be　discovered？鈥�

鈥渙h；　no。　no　idea。鈥�

you　might　not　think　there　would　be　that　many　people　in　the　world　prepared　to　devotelifetimes　to　the　study　of　something　so　inescapably　low　key；　but　in　fact　moss　people　number　inthe　hundreds　and　they　feel　very　strongly　about　their　subject。　鈥渙h；　yes；鈥潯�ellis　told　me；　鈥渢hemeetings　can　get　very　lively　at　times。鈥�

i　asked　him　for　an　example　of　controversy。

鈥渨ell；　here鈥檚　one　inflicted　on　us　by　one　of　your　countrymen；鈥潯�he　said；　smiling　lightly；　andopened　a　hefty　reference　work　containing　illustrations　of　mosses　whose　most　notablecharacteristic　to　the　uninstructed　eye　was　their　uncanny　similarity　one　to　another。　鈥渢hat；鈥潯�hesaid；　tapping　a　moss；　鈥渦sed　to　be　one　genus；　drepanocladus。　now　it鈥檚　been　reorganized　intothree：　drepanocladus；　wamstorfia；　and　hamatacoulis。鈥�

鈥渁nd　did　that　lead　to　blows？鈥潯�i　asked　perhaps　a　touch　hopefully。

鈥渨ell；　it　made　sense。　it　made　perfect　sense。　but　it　meant　a　lot　of　reordering　of　collectionsand　it　put　all　the　books　out　of　date　for　a　time；　so　there　was　a　bit　of；　you　know；　grumbling。鈥�

mosses　offer　mysteries　as　well；　he　told　me。　one　famous　case鈥攆amous　to　moss　peopleanyway鈥攊nvolved　a　retiring　type　called　hyophila　stanfordensis；　which　was　discovered　on　thecampus　of　stanford　university　in　california　and　later　also　found　growing　beside　a　path　incornwall；　on　the　southwest　tip　of　england；　but　has　never　been　encountered　anywhere　inbetween。　how　it　came　to　exist　in　two　such　unconnected　locations　is　anybody鈥檚　guess。　鈥渋t鈥檚now　known　as　hennediella　stanfordensis；鈥潯�ellis　said。　鈥渁nother　revision。鈥�

we　nodded　thoughtfully。

when　a　new　moss　is　found　it　must　be　pared　with　all　other　mosses　to　make　sure　that　ithasn鈥檛　been　recorded　already。　then　a　formal　description　must　be　written　and　illustrationsprepared　and　the　result　published　in　a　respectable　journal。　the　whole　process　seldom　takesless　than　six　months。　the　twentieth　century　was　not　a　great　age　for　moss　taxonomy。　much　ofthe　century鈥檚　work　was　devoted　to　untangling　the　confusions　and　duplications　left　behind　bythe　nineteenth　century。

that　was　the　golden　age　of　moss　collecting。　（you　may　recall　that　charles　lyell鈥檚　fatherwas　a　great　moss　man。）　one　aptly　named　englishman；　george　hunt；　hunted　british　mosses　soassiduously　that　he　probably　contributed　to　the　extinction　of　several　species。　but　it　is　thanksto　such　efforts　that　len　ellis鈥檚　collection　is　one　of　the　world鈥檚　most　prehensive。　all780；000　of　his　specimens　are　pressed　into　large　folded　sheets　of　heavy　paper；　some　very　oldand　covered　with　spidery　victorian　script。　some；　for　all　we　knew；　might　have　been　in　thehand　of　robert　brown；　the　great　victorian　botanist；　unveiler　of　brownian　motion　and　thenucleus　of　cells；　who　founded　and　ran　the　museum鈥檚　botany　department　for　its　first　thirty…oneyears　until　his　death　in　1858。　all　the　specimens　are　kept　in　lustrous　old　mahogany　cabinets　sostrikingly　fine　that　i　remarked　upon　them。

鈥渙h；　those　were　sir　joseph　banks鈥檚；　from　his　house　in　soho　square；鈥潯�ellis　said　casually；　asif　identifying　a　recent　purchase　from　ikea。　鈥渉e　had　them　built　to　hold　his　specimens　from　theendeavour　voyage。鈥潯�he　regarded　the　cabinets　thoughtfully；　as　if　for　the　first　time　in　a　longwhile。　鈥渋　don鈥檛　know　howwe　ended　up　with　them　in　bryology；鈥潯�he　added。

this　was　an　amazing　disclosure。　joseph　banks　was　england鈥檚　greatest　botanist；　and　theendeavour　voyage鈥攖hat　is　the　one　on　which　captain　cook　charted　the　1769　transit　of　venusand　claimed　australia　for　the　crown；　among　rather　a　lot　else鈥攚as　the　greatest　botanicalexpedition　in　history。　banks　paid　锟�10；000；　about　1　million　in　today鈥檚　money；　to　bringhimself　and　a　party　of　nine　others鈥攁　naturalist；　a　secretary；　three　artists；　and　four　servants鈥攐n　the　three…year　adventure　around　the　world。　goodness　knows　what　the　bluff　captain　cookmade　of　such　a　velvety　and　pampered　assemblage；　but　he　seems　to　have　liked　banks　wellenough　and　could　not　but　admire　his　talents　in　botany鈥攁　feeling　shared　by　posterity。

never　before　or　since　has　a　botanical　party　enjoyed　greater　triumphs。　partly　it　was　becausethe　voyage　took　in　so　many　new　or　little…known　places鈥攖ierra　del　fuego；　tahiti；　newzealand；　australia；　new　guinea鈥攂ut　mostly　it　was　because　banks　was　such　an　astute　andinventive　collector。　even　when　unable　to　go　ashore　at　rio　de　janeiro　because　of　a　quarantine；he　sifted　through　a　bale　of　fodder　sent　for　the　ship鈥檚　livestock　and　made　new　discoveries。

nothing；　it　seems；　escaped　his　notice。　altogether　he　brought　back　thirty　thousand　plantspecimens；　including　fourteen　hundred　not　seen　before鈥攅nough　to　increase　by　about　aquarter　the　number　of　known　plants　in　the　world。

but　banks鈥檚　grand　cache　was　only　part　of　the　total　haul　in　what　was　an　almost　absurdlyacquisitive　age。　plant　collecting　in　the　eighteenth　century　became　a　kind　of　internationalmania。　glory　and　wealth　alike　awaited　those　who　could　find　new　species；　and　botanists　andadventurers　went　to　the　most　incredible　lengths　to　satisfy　the　world鈥檚　craving　for　horticulturalnovelty。　thomas　nuttall；　the　man　who　named　the　wisteria　after　caspar　wistar；　came　toamerica　as　an　uneducated　printer　but　discovered　a　passion　for　plants　and　walked　halfwayacross　the　country　and　back　again；　collecting　hundreds　of　growing　things　never　seen　before。

john　fraser；　for　whom　is　named　the　fraser　fir；　spent　years　in　the　wilderness　collecting　onbehalf　of　catherine　the　great　and　emerged　at　length　to　find　that　russia　had　a　new　czar　whothought　he　was　mad　and　refused　to　honor　his　contract。　fraser　took　everything　to　chelsea；where　he　opened　a　nursery　and　made　a　handsome　living　selling　rhododendrons；　azaleas；magnolias；　virginia　creepers；　asters；　and　other　colonial　exotica　to　a　delighted　english　gentry。

huge　sums　could　be　made　with　the　right　finds。　john　lyon；　an　amateur　botanist；　spent　twohard　and　dangerous　years　collecting　specimens；　but　cleared　almost　200；000　in　today鈥檚money　for　his　efforts。　many；　however；　just　did　it　for　the　love　of　botany。　nuttall　gave　most　ofwhat　he　found　to　the　liverpool　botanic　gardens。　eventually　he　became　director　of　harvard鈥檚botanic　garden　and　author　of　the　encyclopedicgenera　of　north　american　plants　（which　henot　only　wrote　but　also　largely　typeset）。

and　that　was　just　plants。　there　was　also　all　the　fauna　of　the　new　worlds鈥攌angaroos；　kiwis；raccoons；　bobcats；　mosquitoes；　and　other　curious　forms　beyond　imagining。　the　volume　of　lifeon　earth　was　seemingly　infinite；　as　jonathan　swift　noted　in　some　famous　lines：

so；　naturalists　observe；　a　fleahath　smaller　fleas　that　on　him　prey；and　these　have　smaller　still　to　bite　鈥檈m；and　so　proceed　ad　infinitum。

all　this　new　information　needed　to　be　filed；　ordered；　and　pared　with　what　was　known。

the　world　was　desperate　for　a　workable　system　of　classification。　fortunately　there　was　a　manin　sweden　who　stood　ready　to　provide　it。

his　name　was　carl　linn茅　（later　changed；　with　permission；　to　the　more　aristocraticvonlinn茅）；　but　he　is　remembered　now　by　the　latinized　form　carolus　linnaeus。　he　was　born　in1707　in　the　village　of　r？shult　in　southern　sweden；　the　son　of　a　poor　but　ambitious　lutherancurate；　and　was　such　a　sluggish　student　that　his　exasperated　father　apprenticed　him　（or；　bysome　accounts；　nearly　apprenticed　him）　to　a　cobbler。　appalled　at　the　prospect　of　spending　alifetime　banging　tacks　into　leather；　young　linn茅　begged　for　another　chance；　which　wasgranted；　and　he　never　thereafter　wavered　from　academic　distinction。　he　studied　medicine　insweden　and　holland；　though　his　passion　became　the　natural　world。　in　the　early　1730s；　still　inhis　twenties；　he　began　to　produce　catalogues　of　the　world鈥檚　plant　and　animal　species；　using　asystem　of　his　own　devising；　and　gradually　his　fame　grew。

rarely　has　a　man　been　more　fortable　with　his　own　greatness。　he　spent　much　of　hisleisure　time　penning　long　and　flattering　portraits　of　himself；　declaring　that　there　had　never鈥渂een　a　greater　botanist　or　zoologist；鈥潯�and　that　his　system　of　classification　was　鈥渢he　greatestachievement　in　the　realm　of　science。鈥潯�modestly　he　suggested　that　his　gravestone　should　bearthe　inscription　princeps　botanicorum；　鈥減rince　of　botanists。鈥潯�it　was　never　wise　to　question　hisgenerous　self…assessments。　those　who　did　so　were　apt　to　find　they　had　weeds　named　afterthem。

linnaeus鈥檚　other　striking　quality　was　an　abiding鈥攁t　times；　one　might　say；　a　feverish鈥攑reoccupation　with　sex。　he　was　particularly　struck　by　the　similarity　between　certain　bivalvesand　the　female　pudenda。　to　the　parts　of　one　species　of　clam　he　gave　the　names　vulva；　labia；pubes；　anus；　and　hymen。　he　grouped　plants　by　the　nature　of　their　reproductive　organs　andendowed　them　with　an　arrestingly　anthropomorphic　amorousness。　his　descriptions　of　flowersand　their　behavior　are　full　of　references　to　鈥減romiscuous　intercourse；鈥潯♀�渂arren　concubines；鈥�

and　鈥渢he　bridal　bed。鈥潯�in　spring；　he　wrote　in　one　oft…quoted　passage：

love　es　even　to　the　plants。　males　and　females　。　。　。　hold　their　nuptials　。　。　。

showing　by　their　sexual　organs　which　are　males；　which　females。　the　flowers鈥�

leaves　serve　as　a　bridal　bed；　which　the　creator　has　so　gloriously　arranged；　adornedwith　such　noble　bed　curtains；　and　perfumed　with　so　many　soft　scents　that　thebridegroom　with　his　bride　might　there　celebrate　their　nuptials　with　so　much　thegreater　solemnity。　when　the　bed　has　thus　been　made　re