胡楊林，不一樣的風(fēng)景

郭曉娟

茫茫荒漠夜孤單，細(xì)語(yǔ)胡楊度萬(wàn)年。胡楊又名胡桐、英雄樹、水桐、三葉樹，是世界上最古老的樹種之一。作為化石級(jí)植物，胡楊有著強(qiáng)大的生命力，對(duì)寒冷、干旱、鹽堿、風(fēng)沙有極強(qiáng)的忍耐力，人們贊其為“沙漠的脊梁”。額濟(jì)納旗處于大漠戈壁深處，擁有著世界上僅存的3處天然河道胡楊林之一。弱水河畔、居延海邊，39萬(wàn)畝胡楊林用自己的雄姿阻擋著巴丹吉林沙漠的擴(kuò)散，默默守護(hù)著一方土地。

“弱水三千，只取一瓢”常被人們用來比喻對(duì)愛情的忠貞和專一。此處的弱水指的正是流淌在額濟(jì)納旗土地上的黑河。這條古老的河流緩緩流淌著，滋潤(rùn)著岸邊的胡楊，造就了千姿百態(tài)的胡楊林奇觀。神奇的是，同一棵胡楊樹可長(zhǎng)出楓葉、楊葉和柳葉三種形狀的葉片，所以胡楊又被稱為“三葉樹”。胡楊的樹葉之所以奇特，是因?yàn)槠渖L(zhǎng)在極旱荒漠區(qū)，為適應(yīng)干旱環(huán)境，嫩枝上的葉片狹長(zhǎng)如柳，而老枝條上的葉子卻圓潤(rùn)如楊。

經(jīng)過春風(fēng)的吹拂和夏雨的洗禮，在秋天的召喚下，胡楊便由濃綠轉(zhuǎn)淺黃，繼而變成金黃。每年的9月底至10月中旬正是額濟(jì)納胡楊林最絢麗的時(shí)候。放眼望去，一片片胡楊林肆無忌憚地釋放著生命的能量，把大漠裝點(diǎn)得如詩(shī)如畫，匯集成金色的海洋，連河水中也是金黃的倒影。此時(shí)，弱水也因胡楊更充滿靈氣，驚艷于蒼茫的天地間。

胡楊的美麗，除了它的外形，更吸引人的是它在惡劣的生長(zhǎng)環(huán)境中表現(xiàn)出來的傲骨之美。人們用“生而不死一千年，死而不倒一千年，倒而不朽一千年”來贊譽(yù)胡楊頑強(qiáng)的生命力。事實(shí)上，一株胡楊樹的壽命通常在300年左右，最長(zhǎng)一般不超過500年。為吸收水分，胡楊主根可深入地下6米，側(cè)根密織如網(wǎng)則長(zhǎng)達(dá)幾十米，一旦扎根，便緊抓沙土屹立不倒。即使倒下，干旱缺水、陽(yáng)光暴曬的環(huán)境抑制了微生物的活動(dòng)，減緩了胡楊自然腐爛的進(jìn)程，使其得以保存生前形象。

“天荒弱木根須絕，地老孤枝葉脈昂。”正如詩(shī)中所贊，雖然生命逝去，它們依舊風(fēng)骨遒勁，雖然匍匐在地、肢斷骨折，它們卻脊梁不屈……站在它們面前，你會(huì)感慨生命的壯麗與永恒，有種“不見胡楊，不知大景之壯闊。不識(shí)胡楊，不知生命之輝煌”的領(lǐng)悟與釋然。

魏偉

Populus euphratica， also known as swamp poplar， hero tree， desert poplar， and three-leaf tree， is one of the oldest tree species in the world. As a fossil plant， it has a strong vitality， and is highly tolerant of cold， drought， salt and alkali， as well as sandstorms. Thus， it is praised as the “Backbone of the Desert”. Located in the depths of the Gobi Desert， Ejin Banner has one of the world’s three extant populus euphratica forests with natural river courses.

Leaves of three shapes， maple， poplar and willow， can grow on a populus euphratica tree. So it is also known as “Three-Leaf Tree”. The peculiarity of its leaves is because of its growth in an extremely arid desert area. To adapt to the arid environment， it has long and narrow leaves like willow leaves on twigs， but plump leaves like polar leaves on mature branches.

The period from late September to mid-October is the most gorgeous period of the Ejin Populus Euphratica Forest. Looking around， you can see numerous populus euphratica trees releasing life energy without scruple， beautifully decorating the desert， and forming a golden sea， with golden reflections in the river.

The lifespan of a populus euphratica tree is around 300 years， not more than 500 years. To absorb water， the taproot of a populus euphratica tree can extend six meters underground； its lateral roots like a closely woven net have a length of a few dozen meters， clinging to sandy soil when taking root. Even if it falls down， the environment of drought， water shortage and sun exposure could inhibit the activity of microorganisms， and slow down its natural decay process to preserve its previous image.

Though dead， they are still sturdy. Though prostrate on the ground， with broken branches， they still show an unyielding spirit... Standing before them， you may marvel at the magnificence and eternity of life， and comprehend， “Without seeing populus euphratica， you will not know the grandeur of scenery； without seeing populus euphratica， you will not know the splendor of life.”