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Some plants, known as flowering annuals, bloom without stop before dying at the end of the year or season.
有些植物被称为一年生花卉，这些植物在年末或季节结束前会不停地开花，然后枯萎。
Other flowering plants, known as perennials, return every year.
其他开花植物，被称为多年生花卉，每年都会开花。
They can bloom all season, with a lot of blossoms at first followed by additional flowers from time to time.
它们可以在整个季节开花，一开始有很多花朵，随后不时会有更多的花朵。
Sometimes it is a limited show that can last as little as two weeks.
有时开花时间有限，可能只持续两周。
Biennials flower only in their second year before dying.
二年生花卉只在第二年开花，然后就会死亡。
But there is another group of plants called monocarpics.
但是还有另外一组植物，被称为一次结实植物。
Their name comes from the Greek words for “single,” mono, and “fruit,” carpos.
它们的名字来源于希腊语中的 “单一”（mono）和 “果实”（carpos）。
Monocarpics spend their whole lives growing in size only to produce a single bloom before dying.
一次结实植物在其一生中都在生长，只是在死亡前才会开出一朵花。
Some monocarpic plants have a following among a small group of gardeners.
有些一次结实植物在一小部分园艺家中很受欢迎。
These gardeners enjoy what can be years of waiting.
这些园丁享受着可能长达数年的等待。
They often throw parties to show their plant’s once-in-a-lifetime bloom to others.
他们经常举办聚会，向其他人展示他们的植物一生一次的开花。
Other growers, however, can be surprised to discover their 30-year-old plant unexpectedly blooming, only to watch it die immediately afterward.
然而，其他种植者可能会惊讶地发现他们养了30年的植株意外开花，却只能眼睁睁地看着它随后立即死亡。
Flowers have a purpose: to ensure the continuation of their species.
花有一个目的：确保它们物种的延续。
After their bloom ends, plants produce seeds that grow into new plants. Monocarpic plants have just one chance at this.
在它们的花期结束后，植物会产生种子，这些种子会长成新的植物。 一次结实植物只有一次这样的机会。
So, as you might imagine, the effort is often spectacular.
所以，如你所想，开花的过程往往很壮观。
Take the century plant. Rather than living for 100 years, as its name suggests, it has an average lifespan of just 10 to 30 years. It is a desert plant native to Mexico and Texas.
以世界植物为例。世纪植物的名字里虽然有“世纪”二字，但它的平均寿命只有10到30年，而不是像它的名字所暗示的那样能活100年。它是一种原产于墨西哥和德克萨斯州的沙漠植物。
During its life, it grows to 1.8 meters tall before sending up a giant flower stalk that can reach nine meters, often surprising its owners.
在它的一生中，它会长到1.8米高，然后长出一根巨大的花茎，可以达到9米，经常让它的主人感到惊讶。
A 19-year-old American columbo plant growing at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill bloomed this spring.
今年春天，一棵生长在教堂山北卡罗来纳植物园的19岁的美国巨型植物开花了。
The plants are native to the eastern and central United States.
这些植物原产于美国东部和中部。
They grow quickly for many years before pushing forth flowers that are up to two meters long.
它们快速生长多年，然后开出长达两米的花朵。
The monocarpic plant group also includes the fishtail palm. It can grow over 15 meters in height.
一次结实植物还包括鱼尾棕榈，它可以长到超过15米高。
The trees produce flowers with yellow centers when they are between 10 and 20 years old.
这些树在养到10到20年之间时会开出黄色花蕊的花朵。
The good news is the show of flowers can last up to 5 years, after which only the blooming trunk will die, leaving secondary trunks, if present, to take over.
好消息是，花期可以持续长达 5 年，之后只有开花的树干会枯死，留下次生树干（如果有的话）接替它。
However, fishtail palms grown as houseplants are not likely to bloom.
然而，作为室内植物种植的鱼尾棕榈不太可能开花。
Bamboo is also a monocarpic plant. But it can take more than 100 years for some bamboo species to flower, and even then, sometimes their roots push up new plants.
竹子也是一种单子叶植物。 但是，一些竹子品种可能需要100多年才能开花，即使这样，有时它们的根也会冒出新芽。
Bananas, too, are monocarpic, but they reproduce by sending up suckers, or small, new plants, from their roots.
香蕉也是一次结果植物，但是它们通过从根部发出吸根，或者小的植株来繁殖。
After their one-and-only fruit crop is harvested, the main plant is cut to ground level, leaving the suckers to take over.
在他们唯一的一次结果收获后，主株就会被砍到地面，留下侧芽接管。
I’m John Russell.
我是约翰·罗素。
