Cyperus VS Alsophila spinulosa: different radicals but same pronunciation, how different are you two?

The Chinese names of plants are like refined codes, containing rich information such as their origin and morphological characteristics, without lengthy descriptions in biological terms. However, given the profound heritage and long history of Chinese characters, plant names have undergone many changes over the long years.

To this end, Tadpole Music specially invited Mr. Wei Deyong from the Shenzhen Writers Association to conduct an in-depth analysis of those common but easily mispronounced or misread plant names from multiple dimensions such as their naming origins, biological characteristics, and historical evolution.

Chinese characters are very interesting, just like magic. You see, the same character "沙" can represent different things by adding different radicals to it . For example, adding a grass radical to it, it becomes the name of grass "沙"; adding a wood radical to it, it becomes the name of a tree "桫". What's more interesting is that although the radicals are different, the two new characters "沙" and "桫" sound the same.

01

Sedge: This "bad weed " has uses

In the vast farmlands, the battle between rice and its opponents has never stopped. Among them, there is a particularly stubborn and vicious weed, which has become a strong enemy of their growth with its amazing drought and frost resistance and outstanding environmental adaptability.

This weed not only competes fiercely with rice for nutrients, but is also figuratively called "pig water chestnut" by farmers because its underground fruits resemble small water chestnuts in the farmland.

When people gently rub the plant, a light fragrance will spread. Therefore, it is given the elegant nickname of "Cyperus rotundus". In addition, it has a variety of common names in the folk, such as Lingling grass, Xiangtou grass, and Leigongtou, and each name contains people's cognition and emotion.

Sedge in the farmland

In addition to these many common names, it has a more formal scientific name, Cyperus rotundus. As a polyphonetic word, "沙" has different pronunciations and meanings in different contexts.

When it is used as a person's name, especially a girl's name, it is pronounced as shā, with a sense of gentleness and softness; if it refers to an animal, it specifically refers to the cicada, which we often call the kidna, with the scientific name katydid, which is a lively sound in nature.

When it is used as a plant name, specifically referring to the perennial herb sedge, the pronunciation becomes suō . The origin of this pronunciation is closely related to the wisdom and life of the ancients.

Ancient people used sedge leaves to weave raincoats and bamboo hats to protect against wind and rain. Lu Ji, a scholar of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period, wrote in "Mao Shi Hua Niao Yu Chong Cao Mu Shu": "In the old days, it was said that sedge is a kind of grass, which can be made into raincoats and bamboo hats." The medical classic "Ming Yi Bie Lu" during the Southern and Northern Dynasties further explained that the word "沙" is composed of grass and sand, because the raincoat made from it is light and water-repellent, so it got this name, and it can also be used as a substitute for the word "蓑".

In plant taxonomy, sedge belongs to the genus Cyperus in the family Cyperaceae of the class Monocotyledons. It is a large family with a wide distribution around the world, with more than 50 species, spanning temperate and tropical regions.

In this ancient and fertile land of China, there are about 30 species of sedge family, mainly distributed in the vast area from southeast to southwest, among which Cyperus rotundus and Cyperus tallipes are particularly common.

They reproduce at an alarming rate and spread rapidly in farmland, competing with crops for every inch of land and every drop of nutrients, seriously threatening the healthy growth of crops and even causing yield reductions. Therefore, sedge is notorious in the agricultural field and is listed as the top ten malignant weeds in the world.

The underground fruit of the sedge, Cyperus rotundus

There are always two sides to everything, and sedge is no exception. Its underground rhizome, Cyperus rotundus, has a place in the field of traditional Chinese medicine and is a traditional Chinese medicine with a long history . As early as the Tang Dynasty, people named it "Cyperus rotundus" because of the unique fragrance emitted by its roots.

Cyperus rotundus has the effects of promoting qi and relieving depression, regulating menstruation and relieving pain, and has a significant effect on relieving symptoms such as irregular menstruation and dysmenorrhea. In ancient medical books such as "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica" and "Tangye Materia Medica", Cyperus rotundus frequently appears and is praised as a good medicine for replenishing qi in the blood, showing its important position and value in traditional medicine.

Sedge, this plant that people both love and hate, is writing its own chapter in nature and human civilization in its own unique way.

02

Alsophila spinulosa: a woody fern that lived 180 million years ago

Ferns are one of the oldest inhabitants of the Earth , with a history that surpasses the glory of the dinosaur era and a survival legend that stretches back three to four hundred million years.

They have no gorgeous flowers, abundant fruits, or seeds that give birth to life, but rely on tiny spores to continue their offspring. Most ferns appear as short herbs, but Alsophila spinulosa stands tall in the fern world with its tall, woody posture.

Tall Alsophila spinulosa tree

Alsophila spinulosa is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word śāla, pronounced as suō luó. The official rhyme book Guangyun in the Northern Song Dynasty records: "Alternaria spinulosa is the name of a tree, produced in Kunlun Mountain." This record reveals that Alsophila spinulosa is the name of a tree, pointing out the remoteness and mystery of its origin.

The radical "沙" on the right side of the character "桫" is actually an abbreviated form of the character "娑", and the original meaning of the character "娑" describes the scene of a dancer caressing herself, swaying her body, and rubbing lightly, which is full of tenderness and movement.

It can be inferred that when the character "桫" was first created, it was probably intended to vividly express the branches and leaves of trees swaying gently in the wind, like a dancing girl. The character "椤" has a history of more than 2,000 years: it originally referred to the pillars used to support the roof, forming the word "椤柱"; later it referred to "椤木", a plant of the genus 椤 in the family Rosaceae, with purple-black fruits; later it specifically referred to "桫椤" in ancient books, and it has been used to this day, witnessing the changes in language and the accumulation of culture.

Alnus truncatula, also known as Alnus truncatula

Alsophila spinulosa, commonly known as the fern tree, is a perennial woody plant of the genus Alsophila in the family Alsophilaceae of the order Pteridales in plant taxonomy. It is also the only existing woody fern , and its rarity is self-evident.

There are 230 species of Alsophila in the world, and my country has 12 of them. They are mainly distributed in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hainan, Taiwan and Tibet, and many Alsophila nature reserves have been established in these areas to protect this precious biological resource.

The leaves of Alsophila spinulosa are unique and full of vitality, with spores growing at the bifurcation of the lateral veins, which is the key to its reproduction. It has an upright posture, more than 6 meters high, like a giant in the forest, so it is known as the "king of ferns".

180 million years ago, Alsophila spinulosa was one of the most prosperous plants on Earth. Its lush presence was spread across mountains and rivers, sharing the land with prehistoric creatures such as saber-toothed dinosaurs, mammoths, and unicorns. They even regarded the starch-rich Alsophila spinulosa as an important source of food.

The buds and leaves of Alsophila spinulosa are arranged in a spiral shape at the top of the stem.

Now, Alsophila spinulosa has become a living fossil for studying paleontology and earth evolution . Due to its unique biological value and endangered status, Alsophila spinulosa has been listed as a first-class protected endangered plant by many countries, and has been listed as a first-class protected plant in China's "National Protected Plant List" and "National Key Protected Wild Plant List (First Batch)", and its preciousness is comparable to that of a national treasure.

Alsophila spinulosa not only carries the memory of the earth's history, but is also an indispensable and precious treasure in the natural ecosystem. Protecting Alsophila spinulosa is protecting our common home, allowing this green heritage from ancient times to continue and illuminate our path to explore the mysteries of nature.

References

1. "Observation on the Occurrence and Biological Characteristics of Water Cyperus in Paddy Fields", author Wang Zhaotang, "Weed Science", No. 4, 1988

2. "Study on Population Structure and Dynamics of Rare and Endangered Plant Alsophila spinulosa", author Song Ping, Hong Wei, Wu Chengzhen, etc., "Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology", 2005

3. "Evolutionary Conservatism of Alsophila spinulosa Flora", by Hao Yunqing, Jiang Hong, etc., Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2009

4. "How to pronounce Alsophila spinulosa, how to pronounce Cyathula, what does Cyathula mean, what is the character for Musha?", "Chinese Characters Wisdom" public account

Author: Wei Deyong

Member of Guangdong Shenzhen Writers Association

Editor: Dong Xiaoxian

Reviewer: Zhang Chao, Li Peiyuan