SUCCESSIVE TYPHOONS CAUSE PLUMS TO BLOOM EARLY|颱風頻繁花期亂 梅嶺梅花李花提早開

Tainan's Meiling, or the ridge of plum flower, is, as the name suggests, known for its plum blossoms, which usually bloom in winter. But in the past few days, several varieties of plum trees in Meiling have blossomed. Farmers point to recent typhoons as the reason why the flowers have bloomed earlier this year. ==HSU HENG-WEN, Director, Tourism Development Association of Meiling== The trees in this area were shielded from the typhoons, so they haven't blossomed yet. At mid-October, plum blossoms at Tainan's Meiling is an anomaly, but to visitors, it's a wonderful surprise. ==VISITOR== (Is it too early for these flowers to bloom?) Yes. Even plums have blossomed. (Is that unusual?) Yes, it's pretty unusual. The climate is really changing. ==VISITOR== The trees probably think the winter has passed. Since all the leaves have fallen off, it's time to bloom. (Ever seen this before?) Rarely. It's mainly because the leaves have fallen off. When asked about why the trees bloomed earlier this year, Director of Meiling Tourism Development Association, Hsu Heng-wen, who is also an experienced plum farmer, said it was because recent typhoons have stripped the trees of their leaves, which made them believe that winter has come, and hence the blossoms. ==HSU HENG-WEN, Director, Tourism Development Association of Meiling== It's not time for plum blossoms yet. Prunus mume blooms in January, and both Prunus campanulata and Prunus salicina bloom in early Februrary. But successive typhoons have affected the trees, causing them to bloom earlier than usual. As you can see, 50% to 60% of our Prunus salicinas have blossomed, which is quite abnormal. Usually, the trees will start bearing fruit after florescence, but since the flowers are premature, fruition rate will be rather low. While these blossoms are a wonderful surprise for tourists, for plum farmers, they are bad news because premature florescence would likely lead to low fruition rates. As extreme weather patterns become commonplace, it is feared that events like this would take place more often in the future. TRANSLATED BY：JEFF CHANG ==梅嶺風景區發展協會總幹事 許鴻文== 正常就是像這片 這邊比較沒讓風掃到 所以就沒開花 目前正值10月中，台南梅嶺的梅花以及李花，本不應該開花，但是這幾天卻出現梅花、李花，甚至櫻花都陸續綻放的現象，這也讓登山的遊客驚喜。 ==遊客== (花季還沒到)還沒啊 但連梅花都在開花(覺得很奇怪) 是啊 覺得很奇怪 只覺得氣候變遷很厲害 ==遊客== 它(植物)以為已經過冬天了 沒葉子了 就開始開花了 (之前有看過嗎)很少啦 它最主要是沒葉子了 面對植物的生理時鐘亂了套，在梅嶺栽種梅子多年的有機農許鴻文就說，全部都是近期多個颱風的影響，強風把落葉打落，讓樹木以為秋冬到來，因此才出現這種現象。 ==梅嶺風景區發展協會總幹事 許鴻文== 現在不是花季 因為梅花是在1月初 山櫻花在2月初 李花也在2月初 但是今年連續的颱風 對樹木的影響 所以現在 陸續都在開花 像李花 甚至開到5到6成 這很不正常 開花是會結果 我們可以收成 但是在這個時候開花 不是正常氣候 所以沒什麼結果率 颱風改變了植物的生理時鐘，雖然美麗的花朵讓遊客心喜，但提早開花，對於梅農來說卻是令人擔心的事，因為容易變成空包彈，沒有結果影響梅子收成，只是現在極端天候頻傳，未來這種現象恐怕會越來越普遍。 記者 溫正衡 台南報導