多亏了种子保存者，玻璃宝石玉米才得以存在

多亏了种子保存者，玻璃宝石玉米才得以存在

Corn on the cob is one of life's biggest treats, but there's rarely a surprise when you peel the husk. That's not the case with Glass Gem corn. Peeling the husk from this variety of corn is like unwrapping artwork each time.

玉米棒是生活中最大的美食之一，但当你剥去玉米皮的时候，你很少会感到惊讶。但玻璃宝石玉米却不是这样。剥去这种玉米的外壳，每次都像是打开一件艺术品。

Glass Gem corn Is an old variety of corn with kernels that come in an absolutely stunning array of colors. (Photo: timlewisnm [CC BY-SA 2.0]/Flickr)

What is Glass Gem corn? It's an old variety of corn with kernels that come in an absolutely stunning array of colors. It's also a reminder that there are varieties of fruits and vegetables that we're in danger of losing. That would be a real shame if we did.

什么是玻璃宝石玉米?这是一种古老的玉米品种，它的玉米粒颜色非常漂亮。这也提醒我们，有很多种类的水果和蔬菜我们可能会失去。如果我们这样做，那将是一个真正的遗憾。

This multi-colored corn was brought back into our collective consciousness a few years ago when a photo of it went viral. Business Insider has the story of this corn (along with some beautiful photos) that an Oklahoma farmer named Carl Barnes has been growing for many years. He's half-Cherokee, and he wanted to reconnect with his heritage, so he exchanged Native American corn seed with people from all over the country and started growing corn with seeds the colors of the rainbow.

这种五颜六色的玉米在几年前被带回我们的集体意识中，当时它的一张照片在网上疯传 。《商业内幕》报道了这种名叫卡尔·巴恩斯的俄克拉荷马州农民种植玉米多年的故事(还有一些漂亮的照片)。他是半个切罗基人，他想要和自己的传统重新建立联系，所以他和来自全国各地的人交换了美洲原住民的玉米种子，开始种植带有彩虹颜色种子的玉米。

His efforts were successful but went under the radar until 1994 when another farmer named Greg Schoen obtained some of this rainbow corn seed from Barnes and grew it himself. His photo of a particularly beautiful ear of corn went viral in 2012, and now demand for the seeds is high.

他的努力取得了成功，但直到1994年，另一位名叫格雷格·舍恩的农民从巴恩斯那里获得了这种彩虹玉米种子，并自己种植了它，他的努力才被人发现。2012年，他拍摄的一张玉米穗特别漂亮的照片在网上疯传，现在对玉米种子的需求很高。

So now anyone can grow this beautiful variety, save the seeds, and pass them on — helping to make sure these seeds don't get forgotten again. By saving the seeds from specific-colored kernels, people have been able to play with the colors, creating new color combinations in the Glass Gem corn.

所以现在任何人都可以种植这种美丽的品种，保存种子，并把它们传递下去——帮助确保这些种子不会再次被遗忘。通过从特定颜色的玉米粒中保存种子，人们可以改变颜色，在玻璃宝石玉米中创造新的颜色组合。

This corn isn't the type you'd slather with butter, sprinkle with salt, and chomp into on a summer evening. It's tougher than that, so it's used for popcorn and for grinding into cornmeal.

这种玉米不是那种你会在夏天的晚上涂上厚厚的黄油，撒上盐，然后大嚼特嚼的玉米。它比那更硬，所以它被用来做爆米花和磨成玉米粉。

The importance of saving seeds

保存种子的重要性

Glass Gem corn is an example of the fruits and vegetables that we're in danger of losing. (Photo: ThomasLENNE/Shutterstock)

The story of how Glass Gem corn was rediscovered is important because it highlights the need to save seeds and swap seeds with others to keep produce varieties alive.

玻璃宝石玉米重新被发现的故事很重要，因为它强调了保存种子和与他人交换种子以保持品种存活的必要性。

According to Food Tank founder Danielle Nierenberg, there are about 100,000 global plant varieties (edible and non-edible) that are endangered. Saving seeds and making sure that a large variety of plants continue to thrive is important for agricultural biodiversity, but its importance goes further.

据食品库创始人丹妮尔·尼伦伯格称，全球约有10万种植物品种(可食用和不可食用)濒临灭绝。保存种子和确保多种植物继续生长对农业生物多样性很重要，但它的重要性还不止于此。

Food Tank has a list of 15 seed-saving initiatives, including several that you can purchase seeds from. You can also go to a local seed swap or swap with others online. Once you get your seeds, the idea is to grow the plants, save the seeds, keep some for yourself and swap or give to others to perpetuate the diversity of seeds.

食品库列出了15个节种计划，包括几个你可以购买种子的计划。你也可以去当地的种子交换或与其他人在线交换。一旦你得到你的种子，想法是种植植物，保存种子，保留一些给你自己和交换或给别人以保持种子的多样性。