第1876期:Little-known Garden Supports US Nursery Industry

Placed among the busy streets of Washington, D.C. is a large public garden that many Americans have never heard of. The U.S. National Arboretum includes a collection of flowering plants called azaleas, a field of native plants called ferns, and flowering trees in the dogwood tree area. Government scientists are in charge of the 183-hectare area. Their main goal is to strengthen the U.S. economy by making sure an important kind of agriculture, called the nursery industry, continues to perform well. “What we do is support the American nursery industry … which is really one of the largest forms of agriculture,” said Richard Olsen, director of the National Arboretum.

位于华盛顿特区繁忙的街道上有一个许多美国人从未听说过的大型公共花园。美国国家植物园包括一系列名为杜鹃花的开花植物、一片名为蕨类植物的本土植物以及山茱萸树区的开花树木。政府科学家负责管理这片 183 公顷的区域。 他们的主要目标是通过确保称为苗圃业的重要农业继续表现良好来增强美国经济。“我们所做的是支持美国苗圃业……这确实是最大的农业形式之一，”国家植物园馆长理查德·奥尔森说。

He said that different kinds of agriculture industry like ornamental landscapes, horticulture, and turf, “… all of that occurs in every county, in every state of the union. So, it forms a large portion of American agriculture and therefore, an important part of the economy.” The most recent numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, show that the ornamental and landscape plant industry creates $13.8 billion in sales each year. The garden was established by Congress in 1927. It plays a leading part in researching and developing plants like trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses.

他说，不同类型的农业产业，如观赏景观、园艺和草坪，“……所有这些都发生在美国每个县、每个州。 因此，它构成了美国农业的很大一部分，因此也是经济的重要组成部分。”美国农业部 (USDA) 的最新数据显示，观赏和景观植物行业每年创造 138 亿美元的销售额。该花园于1927年由国会建立，在乔木、灌木、花卉、草类植物的研究和开发方面发挥着主导作用。

Olsen called the arboretum a “science-based research facility and public garden.” He said the place has bred or released around 650-plus plants. They include more than 450 azaleas for landscaping, but also trees like maples, American elms, and hemlocks. The arboretum is home to one of the largest collections of preserved seeds in the world. The National Arboretum Herbarium houses around 700,000 example seeds. They include seeds from plants that the USDA considers as economically important. Scientists collect many genetically different seeds within a kind of plant from both native and non-native plants. The reason for collecting that data is to protect plants from harmful situations like climate change, changed environments, or other new and possible risks.

奥尔森称该植物园为“以科学为基础的研究设施和公共花园”。 他说，这个地方已经培育或释放了大约 650 多种植物。 其中包括 450 多种用于景观美化的杜鹃花，还有枫树、美国榆树和铁杉等树木。该植物园是世界上最大的保存种子收藏地之一。 国家植物园植物标本馆收藏有约 700,000 颗样本种子。 其中包括美国农业部认为具有重要经济意义的植物种子。科学家们从本地和非本地植物中收集了一种植物中许多基因不同的种子。 收集这些数据的原因是为了保护植物免受气候变化、环境变化或其他新的和可能的风险等有害情况的影响。

Kevin Conrad is a lead plant scientist at the arboretum. He said there are examples in USDA history where a gene from a plant like wheat or grapes has been able to solve a disaster or a collapse of an important agricultural crop. While the scientists do their work, the public is free to explore the arboretum grounds. About 600,000 people visit the gardens each year. That is a small amount compared to the 25 million who visit the monuments and places in the National Mall. Although many people may not know it, the arboretum has had a hand in developing many of the plants that are part of American landscaping. Conrad says the goal is to green the landscape. And he added, “It’s to create a welcoming, secure, safe, beautiful, calming landscape for the public.”

凯文·康拉德 (Kevin Conrad) 是植物园的首席植物科学家。 他说，美国农业部历史上有一些例子，来自小麦或葡萄等植物的基因能够解决灾难或重要农作物的歉收。当科学家们工作时，公众可以自由地探索植物园。 每年约有 60 万人参观花园。 与参观国家广场的纪念碑和场所的 2500 万人相比，这个数字很小。尽管很多人可能不知道，但植物园参与了许多美国景观植物的开发。康拉德说，目标是绿化景观。 他补充道，“这是为了为公众创造一个热情、安全、美丽、平静的景观。”