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pod, in botany

(Encyclopedia)pod or legume, dehiscent fruit of a member of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). At maturity the pod splits along its two seams and releases the enclosed seeds. ...

rust, in botany

(Encyclopedia)rust, in botany, name for various parasitic fungi of the order Uredinales and for the diseases of plants that they cause. Rusts form reddish patches of spores on the host plant. About 7,000 species ar...

rye, in botany

(Encyclopedia)rye, cereal grain of the family Poaceae (grass family). The grain, Secale cereale, is important chiefly in Central and N Europe. It seems to have been domesticated later than wheat and other staple gr...

phase, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Phases of the moon phase, in astronomy, the measure of how much of the illuminated surface of a planet or satellite can be seen from a point at a distance from that body; the term is most ofte...

phase, in physics

(Encyclopedia)phase, in physics: see wave.

Phoebe, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Phoebe fēˈbē [key], in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn IX (or S9), Phoebe is 137 mi (220 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mean distance ...

phoebe, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)phoebe, in zoology: see flycatcher. ...

phoenix, in mythology

(Encyclopedia)phoenix, fabulous bird that periodically regenerated itself, used in literature as a symbol of death and resurrection. According to legend, the phoenix lived in Arabia; when it reached the end of its ...

precipitation, in chemistry

(Encyclopedia)precipitation, in chemistry, a process in which a solid is separated from a suspension, sol, or solution. In a suspension such as sand in water the solid spontaneously precipitates (settles out) on st...

precipitation, in meteorology

(Encyclopedia)precipitation, in meteorology, condensed moisture that falls to the surface of the earth in the form of rain, sleet, snow, hail, frost, or dew. ...