無間道:黑面神

Interesting Tree Names

-         Infernal Affairs* IV:  「Black-faced God」

黑面神．只要將葉片摘下來，一小時後葉上便出現黑斑，一天後葉片轉黑．

鬼畫符．在Breynia fruticosa搵食的潛葉蠅善用葉片每一個空間，無論左轉右轉，總會鑽出完美的圖案．

Hong Kong movie trilogy "Infernal Affairs" was an exceptionally hit not just in Hong Kong but also in other parts of the world.  It』s really a box-office miracle.  Actually, in the Plant Kingdom, there is also a representative which straddles among the Three Realms of 「Plant kingdom」, 「God」 and 「Ghosts」. Although it is a common local plant, it is not necessarily well-known.  Its botanical name is Breynia fruticosa, while its English name is waxy leaf which refers to the waxiness of its leaf surface.  It has two Chinese names.  Call it黑面神 (literally means 「Black-faced God」) when the leaf blades are all black.  Or call it鬼劃符 (literally means ghost charm or illegible scribble) if there are erratic white lines on the leaf surface.  A plant with different appellations in different realms surely understands well all the codes and has its own way.

Black-faced God – Only in an hour after the leaf is plucked, black dots appear on the leaf blade.  In a day, it turns all black.

Ghost charm – Leaf miner of Breynia fruticosa fully utilizes each and every bit of the space in the leaves.  No matter how and where it turns makes perfect design pattern on the leaves.

*Its literal meaning in Chinese is 「non-stop path」.  It actually means the lowest level of hell in Buddhism – Avici.

*translated by Mary Chung

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