DEEP DIVES

As you’re exploring the new landscapes of part two of the Caves and Cliffs update, you might want to locate one of the fancy new lush caves biomes. From the surface, it’s usually impossible to tell what’s going on underneath. But there’s a secret giveaway that indicates the presence of one of these fantastic, verdant cave biomes below. And it also happens to be our item of the week. It’s the azalea.

当你探索洞穴与山崖第二部分更新的景色时，你一定非常想找到一个新奇繁茂洞穴生物群系。从表面看，很难知道底下正在发生什么，但这里会有一些隐蔽的线索，表明这下面有着奇妙翠绿的洞穴群系的存在。它就是我们本周所要介绍的——杜鹃花。

Azalea were added to Minecraft in the first part of the Caves & Cliffs update, in June 2021. They’re a curious mix between a flower and a sapling, in that they look pretty and provide pollen for bees while still being able to be grown into a much larger tree if you desire.

2021年6月《我的世界》洞穴与山崖的第一部分更新时，就引入了杜鹃花。杜鹃花是花和树苗的巧妙结合，这体现在它的外观美丽以及能够为蜜蜂提供花粉，并且只要你愿意，也能将它培育成大树。

But let’s start at the beginning – finding them. Azalea bushes grow exclusively on top of moss blocks in the lush caves biome – but on the surface above those biomes you’ll find fully-grown azalea trees. This makes it very easy to locate one – just wander around until you see azalea trees, and start digging.

但我们首先要做的是找到它们。杜鹃花丛只生长在繁茂的洞穴群系中苔藓块的最顶部。在这些洞穴群系的表面，你能看到很多成熟的杜鹃花树。因此发现杜鹃花丛非常简单，你只需要找到杜鹃花树，然后开挖。

But hold on a second, you say. The second part of the Caves and Cliffs update isn’t out when you’re reading this. That is true, and unfortunate. It means that if you want to experience one, for the time being you’ll need to use the “buffet” option in the custom world menu. We’re working as hard as we can to get the full update out, so sit tight for now.

但你会说，等一下，当你看到这篇文章的时候，洞穴与山崖的第二部分尚未更新。这个事实的确有点不幸（这真是太不幸了）。这意味着，如果你想要体验一下，就需要在自定义世界设置菜单中使用“buffet”设定。我们也会尽快完成第二部分的更新，所以敬请期待吧。

Okay, let’s say you’re in the future and you’ve got yourself an Azalea bush. What do you do with it? Well, they’re mostly there to look nice or to be grown into azalea trees. They’re the only sapling that won’t grow automatically – but if you bonemeal them then they’ll spring right up into a tree. The bushes also allow bees to harvest pollen to make honey. And if for some reason you hate azalea bushes, or end up with too many of them, then you can compost them or burn them in a furnace for fuel.

好了，想象一下，在未来，置身杜鹃花丛中，你会做什么呢？那些杜鹃花看起来很美，有的已经长成大树。它们是唯一一种不能自动长大的树苗，但如果用骨粉为其施肥，它们会立即长成大树。蜜蜂可以在杜鹃花丛中采集花粉酿造蜂蜜。如果你出于某种原因讨厌杜鹃花丛，或者苦于有太多的杜鹃花丛，那么你也可以将它们制成肥料或者在熔炉内燃烧制成燃料。

Peachbird // CC BY-SA 3.0
Peachbird // CC BY-SA 3.0

In the real world, Azaleas are a type of Rhododendron which bloom in the springtime. They’re native to Asia, Europe and North America, and like living under trees in acidic soil. They also grow rather slowly. It’s not uncommon to see azaleas bushes that are decades old.

在现实生活中，杜鹃花是杜鹃花属的一种植物，它们一般在春天才会开花。它们主要分布于亚洲、欧洲以及北美洲，一般生长于树下，喜酸性土壤。它们生长缓慢，寻常见到的杜鹃花丛一般都有几十年的花龄了。

Azaleas are highly toxic to humans, so they’re not used in cuisine or medicine. But their beautiful flowers mean that they’ve been popular as ornamental plants for centuries. Humans are so fond of them, in fact, that we’ve selectively bred more than 10,000 different varieties.

杜鹃花对人类来说是剧毒的，所以它们不能用于烹饪或者制药。但是它们美丽的花朵使它们成为了流行数百年的观赏植物。人类很喜欢它们，以至于有选择性地培育了10000多个品种的杜鹃花。

In Chinese culture, the azalea is known as the “thinking of home bush”, and features heavily in the work of Du Fu, one of China’s greatest poets. It’s also particularly popular in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, and many US cities also celebrate the blooming of the azalea during the spring.

在中国历史上，杜鹃花是思乡之情的象征，这一意象在中国著名诗人杜甫的笔下极为常见。杜鹃花在日本、韩国、中国的香港以及很多美国的城市也极为受欢迎，人们会在春天庆祝杜鹃花的盛开。

So next time you come across a grove of azalea on the surface in Minecraft, ready your shovel and start digging. You might uncover something rather special.

所以，当你下次在《我的世界》中遇到一片杜鹃花丛时，拿好你的铁铲准备开挖吧。你可能会发现一些非常特别的东西。

【// TODO // 译自官网 2021 年 08 月 26 日发布的 Taking Inventory Azalea；原作者 Duncan Geere】
【本文排版借助了：SPX】