(Encyclopedia) oleasteroleasterōˌlēăsˈtər [key], common name for members of the Elaeagnaceae, a family principally of shrubs with leathery leaves and a dense covering of glistening hairs. Most…
(Encyclopedia) leadwortleadwortlĕdˈwôrt, –wərt [key], common name for the Plumbaginaceae, a family of perennial herbs and shrubs usually found in semiarid regions, especially of the Mediterranean…
(Encyclopedia) burdockburdockbûrˈdäk [key], common name of any plant of the genus Arctium of the family Asteraceae (aster family), coarse biennials indigenous to temperate Eurasia and mostly weedy in…
(Encyclopedia) wildcat, common name of Old World cats (Felis silvestris) of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The wildcat resembles a large domestic tabby cat with a heavy tail; its fur is brownish to gray,…
(Encyclopedia) adenoidsadenoidsădˈənoidzˌ [key], common name for the pharyngeal tonsils, spongy masses of lymphoid tissue that occupy the nasopharynx, the space between the back of the nose and the…
(Encyclopedia) tilefish, common name for a superior and brilliantly colored food fish of temperate and tropical waters, marked by fleshy flaps on the top of the head and at the corners of the mouth.…
(Encyclopedia) Sharp, Phillip Allen, 1944–, American geneticist, b. Falmouth, Ky., Ph.D., Univ. of Illinois, 1969. Sharp joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974, where…
(Encyclopedia) silverfish, common name for primitive, wingless insects of the family Lepismatidae. The silverfish, which has two long antennae and three long tail bristles, is named for its covering…
(Encyclopedia) stonecrop, common name for members of the Crassulaceae (also called orpine, or hen-and-chickens, family), a family of succulent, fleshy herbs and shrubs mostly inhabiting arid regions…
(Encyclopedia) robin's plantainrobin's plantainplănˈtĭn [key], common name of several plants belonging to the family Asteraceae (aster family). Robin's plantain, also known as hawkweed, of the genus…
