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vanilla

(Encyclopedia)vanilla, a plant of the genus Vanilla of the family Orchidaceae (orchid family). Vines of hot, damp climates, most are indigenous to Central and South America, especially Mexico, but are now cultivate...

Norumbega

(Encyclopedia)Norumbega nôrəmbĕgˈə [key], name vaguely used, especially on European maps of the 16th and 17th cent., to indicate a region, a river, or a city on the east coast of North America. Fabulous tales ...

Meares, John

(Encyclopedia)Meares, John mērz [key], 1756?–1809, British naval officer, explorer, and trader. He served in the navy, in which he attained the rank of lieutenant, until after the Peace of Paris (1783), when he ...

skimmer

(Encyclopedia)skimmer, common name for certain sea birds resembling the related tern. Skimmers (genus Rhynchops) have long, laterally compressed bills of which the lower mandible is one fourth longer than the movab...

arnica

(Encyclopedia)arnica ärˈnəkə [key], any plant of the genus Arnica, yellow-flowered perennials of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native to north temperate and arctic regions. In North America, arnicas gro...

Glover, Jose

(Encyclopedia)Glover, Jose glŭvˈər [key], d. 1638, English nonconformist minister, generally considered the father of printing in the English colonies of North America. He visited New England c.1634 and on his r...

Gulf Stream

(Encyclopedia)Gulf Stream, warm ocean current of the N Atlantic Ocean, off E North America. It was first described (1513) by Spanish explorer Ponce de León. The Gulf Stream originates in the Gulf of Mexico and, as...

Calgary, University of

(Encyclopedia)Calgary, University of, at Calgary, Alta., Canada; coeducational; provincially supported; founded 1945 as a branch of the Univ. of Alberta. It gained full autonomy in 1966. It has faculties of educati...

Continental Divide

(Encyclopedia)Continental Divide, the “backbone” of a continent. In North America, from N Alaska to New Mexico, it moves along the crest of the Rocky Mts., which separates streams with outlets to the west of th...

pear

(Encyclopedia)pear, name for a fruit tree of the genus Pyrus of the family Rosaceae (rose family) and for its fruit, a pome. The common pear (P. communis) is one of the earliest cultivated of fruit trees, both in i...