Page 63 - 芒花拾穗_十年全記錄

一株芒草 Silver Grass:

自然界所賜予的美好禮物 The Wonderful Gift from the Nature

The first impression people get for the Caoling Historical Trail is always the swaying silver
草嶺古道最為人所熟悉的芒草，閩南語稱「菅芒」，在臺灣的平原和低海拔丘陵山 grass. It’s a common plant here in terrain at low attitude. Different from other plants blooming
區，都不難發現芒草的蹤跡。它往往率先在一個裸露地區出現，生長時序和許多植 and growing in spring and summer, silver grass blossoms from late autumn. When northeast
物不一樣。每年到秋天時，多半是植物蕭索、候鳥南飛的季節，這時卻是芒草的花 wind starts to blow hard in winter, it’s the prime time for silver grass to bloom. The spectacular
穗開始抽長的時候，通常到了晚秋，就已經滿山火紅。到了寒冬時，金屬的光澤褪 scene of the silver grass waves swaying all over the mountain and valley attracts visitors
去，色澤漸漸轉白灰後的芒花，在冬風裡搖曳，黃褐帶白，十分醒目。 worldwide every year. Though the beauty of blossoming silver grass is obvious, hikers are not
so fond of silver grass. This is because the silver grass contains "silicon" which can easily cut
喜歡登山的朋友對它卻相當頭疼，因為其葉緣為細鋸齒狀，且含有「矽」的成分，
a person’s skin and so hikers often get hurt. Despite this, silver grass is quite useful in older,
易割傷人類皮膚。但芒草是一種用處極廣的植物，以前農家的屋頂有時就以芒草舖
agrarian times. At that time, silver grass was used to make brooms, grass roofing and was even
成；其穗桿綑綁起來可做成掃帚，而一些現成摘取的果菜，也常以芒草捆綁；此
used in traditional Chinese medicine! Silver grass is not only useful to people, but also for
外，並可當成飼料餵養牛羊等家畜；整個植株並可做成防風圍籬。中國藥草名著
birds. Some birds use it to build nests; some even build their nest in the silver grass bushes!
《本草綱目》中並記載，其莖可利尿、根可治咳。
芒花
而以鳥類而言，許多低海拔鳥類都與其有密切生活關係，斑文鳥、尖尾文鳥等文鳥 The Legend of the Silver Grass
‧ 拾穗
屬鳥類，會成群到芒花上啄食成熟穀類；春天時，麻雀、烏秋和綠繡眼，也喜歡叨
著芒花穗桿去築巢，還有些鳥類就直接在芒草叢裡面築巢；另有一種褐頭鷦鶯因常 秋色芒芒 原來不是五節芒
在芒草上歌唱，別名就稱為「芒冬丟仔」；在古道上常聽到小彎嘴畫眉的歌聲，是
62 著名的「芒草之鳥」。 秋日時節是芒草正盛時，過往一般人多把郊野所見芒草一概 63
山海間的古道記憶
喚作「五節芒」；根據李瑞宗（1995）的博士論文研究，臺
小小芒草，大大用處。不僅是對人類，對於自然界的各類動物來說，芒草都是大地
灣的五節芒並不如想像中常見。五節芒植株較高大，葉背綠
贈予的美好禮物。 色、不具白粉，花開於五、六月，分布以中南部為主、北部
較少；而東北角最常見的芒草，卻是花開於十至一月，葉鞘
光滑無毛、鞘緣具毛，葉背具白粉，故名「白背芒」。白背
芒初期花略帶紅色，高度約1-3公尺，是臺灣芒花家族的老
─ 草嶺古道尋幽行
大，除了草嶺古道外，陽明山及九份皆是觀賞白背芒的絕佳
地點。不過在茂密芒草區行走時，建議穿著長袖衣物，以免
白背芒的葉子割傷皮膚。
十年精彩全紀錄 Memories Beyond the Mountains and the Sea: Past, Present, and the Future of the Caoling Historical Trails
Silver Grass: Miscanthus sinensis var. glaber
Instead of Miscanthus floridulus, the most common Miscanthus sp. in low altitudinal Taiwan,
Miscanthus sinesis var. glaber is found in Caoling. While Miscanthus floridulus has leaves green
on the back and blooms in May and June, Miscanthus sinesis var. glaber has leaves with
white awns and white powder on the back and blooms from October to January.Blooming
from October to November, its early flowers appear reddish. About one to three
meters high, silver grass generally grows on the grasslands. In addition to thriving on the
Caoling Historical Trail on the Northeast Coast, Yangminshan and Jiufen are two sites for
populations of silver grass. Be sure to wear long sleeved clothes and pants when walking
into silver grass bush, as the leaves can cut your skin.