A small Canadian town hopes to become a tourist attraction thanks to the internet fame of a homeowner’s giant rhododendron. The 7.6m by 9.1m bush in Ladysmith, British Columbia, is now in peak bloom. The 115-year-old botanical wonder - known as Lady Cynthia - will carry about 4,000 spring blossoms over the next couple of weeks. The rhododendron is often confused for a tree but is actually a shrub.
一個加拿大小鎮希望拜一位屋主的巨大杜鵑花在網路爆紅之賜，成為觀光勝地。這株位於卑詩省雷狄史密斯鎮、7.6公尺×9.1公尺大小的花叢正值盛開期。這棵115年的植物奇觀—以「辛西亞夫人」之名廣為人知—在未來幾週將綻放4000多朵花。杜鵑花常被搞混為喬木，但其實是灌木。
The local historian Rob Johnson, 73, has convinced the town’s Chamber of Commerce to promote "the marvel of nature" as an attraction. "It’s the size of a small house and is a vibrant pink colour," said Johnson. When it is not in bloom, he says it is "just a nice, big, green shrub". He said he realised "we should capitalise on this" when he saw the rhododendron attracting comment online.
73歲的當地文史學家詹森說服該鎮商會，將此「自然奇景」推廣為觀光景點。「它的大小如小屋，且是鮮艷的粉紅色彩，」詹森說。不開花時，他說它「就是一株美好、碩大的綠灌木」。他表示，看到這株杜鵑花吸引網路留言時，他領悟到「我們應善加利用它」。
Local residents in the town of 8,100 have grown accustomed to the huge shrub, which has been in Ladysmith since around 1904. The first owners of the property are said to have brought Lady Cynthia to the forestry community on a sailing ship from Scotland. Ladysmith’s rhododendron is so named because it is a Cynthia hybrid of the plant.
這座有8100名居民的城鎮對該巨大灌木已習以為常，該樹約自1904年以來便存在於雷狄史密斯。該屋的第一批屋主據說搭乘大帆船，將「辛西亞女士」從蘇格蘭帶到這個林業社區。由於是辛西亞混種杜鵑，因此雷狄史密斯的杜鵑花以此為名。
Source article: http://iservice.ltn.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=1105040&day=2017-05-24