nurse log

The CaretakerのJosephは自殺をしようとした敷地主の娘を助けたことで、その少女に野宿していることがばれてしまいました。しかし、その娘はJosephがどこいるのかは正確には分かっていません。 With a flashlight she begins searching the woods at night. He knows it is she because he has hidden in a hollowed nurse log and waited her to pass; first the light swinging frantically through the ferns, then her pinched, scared face, eyes unblinking. 上に出てきた "nurse log" は苗木ではなさそうですが、何でしょう？ 辞書を見ます。 ・Vocabulary.com: a large decomposing tree trunk that has fallen, usually in a forest; the decaying wood provides moisture and nutrients for a variety of insects and plants "nurse log" の項目を設けている辞書は余りありませんが、Wikipediaに次の詳しい説明がありました。（以下は冒頭の個所のみ引用） A nurse log is a fallen tree which, as it decays, provides ecological facilitation to seedlings. Broader definitions include providing shade or support to other plants. Some of the advantages a nurse log offers to a seedling (as enumerated by Daniel Mathews) are: water, moss thickness, leaf litter, mycorrhizae, disease protection, nutrients, and sunlight. Recent research into soil pathogens suggests that in some forest communities, pathogens hostile to a particular tree species appear to gather in the vicinity of that species, and to a degree inhibit seedling growth. Nurse logs may therefore provide some measure of protection from these pathogens, thus promoting greater seedling survivorship. そう言えば、苗を栽培、販売している所は保育園などと同様に "nursery" でした。