Struggle of Flowers for Life in –30ºC

All creatures struggle to live. It is not different for plants. The chrysosplenium grayanum max looks too humble to attract the insects. Thus, it changes the color of its leaves into yellow. MBC will introduce to us the fierce struggle for life of wild flowers in the high-mountain area of more than 2,000m through its New Year`s special documentary scheduled to be on air at 11 a.m. January 1st. The tile is "War of Wild Flowers in Mt. Backdoo."

The first huddle the wild flowers living in Mt. Backdoo have to overcome to bear life is the harsh coldness in the high mountain region. With strong wind gushing 40m/sec. and –30ºC, the hepatica keeps itself warm with the hair on the stem, while the rhododendron aureum stores antifreezing agent to survive the cold. The papaver coreanum shrinks its leaves inward to protect its pollens against the wind. Looking at the flowers protecting its pollens at the cost of leaves, we think of mothers protecting her child.

Wild flowers in the high mountain area bear small flowers to survive the harshness. Big flowers snap the plants. Unable to have beautiful flowers, they conjure up faked flowers to attract the insects. The hydrangen serrata turns the calyx into light purple to have itself look bigger and gracious. Once pollinated, the calyx turns back grass green. This program is prepared by Kim Jung-myung, one of the renowned documentary specialists. He has visited Mt. Backdoo 12 times since 1995. The documentary took 50 tapes, each of which has a running time of 60 minutes. But MBC has edited them into one-hour TV show.

Kim said, "In the past, documentaries were like a plant almanac just listing names. Hopefully, this one will arouse interest and preservation efforts among viewers for the Korean natural plants."

Soo-Kyung Kim skkim@donga.com