DEEP DIVES BLOCK OF THE WEEK: ROOTED DIRT 本周方块:缠根泥土
We're rooting for it! 我们正在“支持”它!
Azalea trees are really something. 杜鹃花树真的很了不起。
Not only do they look beautiful, all tall and proud. 他们不仅看起来很漂亮,而且都高大而傲娇。
Not only do they subtly indicate the presence of lush caves below. 它们能微妙地显示了下面繁茂洞穴的存在。
Not only do their saplings provide pollen for bees, unlike other tree saplings. 与其他树苗不同,他们的树苗能为蜜蜂提供花粉。
But they also – most amazingly of all – generate a new type of dirt. 但最令人惊讶的是,它们还能产生一种新型的泥土。
Yes, dirt! It’s called “rooted dirt”, and it’s our block of the week. 是的,泥土!它叫“缠根泥土”,是我们本周的方块。
Rooted dirt was initially shown off at Minecraft Live 2020, then became a part of the full game when the first part of the Caves and Cliffs update was released. 缠根泥土最初在Minecraft Live 2020上展示,后来在洞穴和悬崖更新的第一部分发布时成为游戏的一部分。
Smart readers will notice that this is the same time that Azalea trees were added to the game, which is obviously no coincidence. 聪明的读者会注意到这是杜鹃花树被添加到游戏中的同一时间,这显然不是巧合。 Rooted dirt is dirt filled with roots – specifically, dirt-filled with azalea roots. 缠根泥土是充满根的土——具体地说,充满杜鹃花根的土。
If you want some, then locate an azalea tree and dig beneath it to find plenty of the stuff. 如果你想要一些,那就找一棵杜鹃花树,在树下挖掘,找到大量的缠根泥土。
You can also grow new azalea trees if you want, because any dirt below the tree will be immediately converted to rooted dirt when it grows. 如果你愿意,你也可以种植新的杜鹃花树,因为树下的任何泥土在它生长的时候都会立即变成缠根泥土。
In a pinch, if you can’t find any azalea trees at all, you can also buy rooted dirt from wandering traders. 必要时,如果你根本找不到杜鹃花树,你也可以从流浪商人那里买缠根泥土。
Once you’ve got some, what can you do with it? Well, not a whole lot. 一旦你有了一些缠根泥土,你可以用它做什么?嗯,不是很多。
It’s mostly decorative. But grass and mycelium won’t spread onto rooted dirt, so it can be used to make your garden look a little more interesting. 主要是装饰。但是草和菌丝不会蔓延到缠根泥土上,所以它可以用来让你的花园看起来更有趣一些。
The one unique feature of rooted dirt is that using bonemeal on it will cause hanging roots to grow out of the bottom of the block. 缠根泥土的一个独特的特点是,在上面使用骨粉会有悬挂的根从缠根泥土的底部长出来。
You can’t do much with hanging roots either, but they look pretty cool – especially if you’re trying to create an overgrown tunnel kind of vibe. 你也许不能用垂根做很多事情,但它们看起来很酷——尤其是当你试图创造一种杂草丛生的隧道氛围时。 Image credit: Mr Poortom // CC BY-SA 3.0 In the real world, organic matter makes up about 10% of most soils, and some of that organic matter is roots. 在现实世界中,有机物约占大部分土壤的10%,其中一些有机质是根。
We usually think of roots in connection with trees, but almost all plants have roots that serve as both a way to get water and nutrients and also a system to anchor the plant’s body to the ground. 我们通常认为根与树有关,但几乎所有的植物都有根,它既是一种获取水分和营养的途径,也是一种将植物的身体固定在地面上东西。
Some plants also store food in their roots. 有些植物也把食物储存在根部。
There are two different kinds of root systems – fibrous roots have lots of roots growing in all kinds of directions, while taproots have a single main root that grows directly down with some secondary roots growing off it. 根有两种不同的根系,须根有很多根向各个方向生长,而主根有一个,主根直接向下生长,一些次根从它上面生长出来。
Sometimes these taproots are edible – like sweet potato, carrot, turnip, and horseradish. 有时这些主根是可食用的,像甘薯、胡萝卜、萝卜和辣根。
But it’s not just food that we get from roots. Yam roots create estrogen compounds that are used in birth control pills, while other plant roots are used in the creation of medicines, insecticides, and even fertilizer. 但我们从根中获取的不仅仅是食物。山药根可以产生用于避孕药的雌激素化合物,而其他植物根可以用来制造药物、杀虫剂甚至化肥。
Oh, and roots also protect the environment by preventing soil erosion and landslides. 哦,根系还能保护环境,防止水土流失和山体滑坡。
So really we’ve got quite a lot to thank roots for. Thanks, roots! 所以我们真的有很多事情要感谢根。谢谢你,根!