百日菊

热带美洲一个一年生草本小属；匍匐百日菊。

Small genus of tropical American annual herbs : creeping zinnia .

野生百日菊，开着难以形容的小花，最早发现于1519年的墨西哥并被引入欧洲和美国的花园里。

The wild zinnia , a nondescript small flower , was first found growing in Mexico in1519 and introduced to European and American gardens .

美国航天局（NASA）宇航员斯科特·凯利上周末在推特发了一张照片，展示了有史以来在太空中开放的首支花朵——一支橙色的百日菊。

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted a photo over the weekend of the first flower to ever bloom in space .

不过，这并不是空间站首次尝试栽种百日菊。

This was not the first time attempt at growing zinnias , though .

后来凯利接手试验，他凭借在自家花园栽百日菊的经验培育它们，终获成功。

Kelly then took over the operation and began tending to the plants as he would in his own garden .

国际空间站的蔬菜培育实验室之所以选中百日菊，是因为它生长周期更长，宇航员和科学家因此能有更多时间观察植株在微重力状态下的生长情况。

The Veggie plant growth facility aboard the International Space Station chose the zinnia flower species because its longer growth cycle can help astronauts and scientists understand how plants grow in microgravity .

国际空间站的其他宇航员去年就开始培育这种植物了，不过由于湿度大、空气流动不畅，百日菊的水分都从叶片流失了。

Other astronauts aboard the ISS began growing the colorful flowers last year , but due to high humidity and low air flow , the plants leaked water out of the tips of their leaves .