乍然听到“黄蝉”这名字，还真是搞不懂为什么植物要取动物的名字。不知当初为它取名的植物学家们所据为何？

我常到桃园县芦竹乡下去散步，沿途上常可看到人们在庭院内外种植这种“软枝黄蝉”，一年到头花期不断。花色从鹅黄到褐黄、焦黄都有，也都不失它的亮丽可人。不过我内人看到这种花却颇为忌讳，说那是“死人花”──原因是在嘉义那边，人们都在坟墓区内扦插这种花，以美化墓园。小时候她上学都要经过那里，难免心里毛毛的，自然会有“不吉利”的联想。

其实啊，花哪有什么吉不吉利？只有美或不美罢了。

When I first heard the Chinese name of the flower allamanda-"yellow cicada," it made me wonder why plants must be named after animals. Why did the botanist who named it give it this name?

I often go walking in Luchu Township, Taoyuan County, and I commonly see that people have planted allamanda in their courtyards. This flower blooms all year round. The bright and pleasing flower can be many shades of yellow. My wife, however, dislikes this flower, and refers to it as the "dead man's flower." The reason is that people down around Chiayi plant allamanda on tombs in order to beautify their cemeteries. My wife passed a graveyard on the way to school when she was a child, and it always made her uneasy. As a result, she naturally associates allamanda with misfortune.

But can a flower actually be auspicious or inauspicious? It can only be attractive or unattractive.　＠

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责任编辑：昌英