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thorn , in botany

(Encyclopedia)thorn, sharp-pointed projection on some plants, usually protective in function. Botanically, thorns are distinguished as modified stems (as in the honey locust and hawthorn) from spines, which are mod...

Suzuki, Ichiro

(Encyclopedia)Suzuki, Ichiro, 1973–, Japanese baseball player. He began playing full-time in the Japanese big leagues in 1994, with the Orix BlueWave, and led the Pacific League with 210 hits and a .385 average d...

Folquet de Marseille

(Encyclopedia)Folquet de Marseille fôlkāˈ də märsāˈyə [key], 1150–1231, Provençal troubadour. He took orders, rose to be archbishop of Toulouse, and became notorious as the chief prosecutor in Provence o...

mountain ash, in botany

(Encyclopedia)mountain ash, name for any species of the genus Sorbus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), hardy ornamental trees and shrubs native to the Northern Hemisphere, not related to the true ashes. They ar...

spiraea

(Encyclopedia)spiraea spīrēˈə [key], any plant of the genus Spiraea, Northern Hemisphere deciduous shrubs of the family Rosaceae (rose family). Most are indigenous to central and E Asia, whence come most of the...

Kirk, Norman Eric

(Encyclopedia)Kirk, Norman Eric, 1923–74, New Zealand political leader. A Labour party member, he rose in New Zealand politics, entering Parliament in 1957, and becoming vice president (1963) and then president (...

Marble, Alice

(Encyclopedia)Marble, Alice, 1913–90, American tennis player, b. Plumas co., Calif. She began playing tennis at the age of 15, and after 1931 she rose rapidly in national tennis rankings. She four times took the ...

rap music

(Encyclopedia)rap music or hip-hop, African-American popular music style that originated in the mid-to-late ‘70s, which incorporates DJing, MCing, dance, and fashion. See studies by M. Costello and D....

Stone, Nicholas

(Encyclopedia)Stone, Nicholas, 1586–1647, English sculptor and mason, b. Devonshire. He rose to a position of highest importance as a decorative sculptor, working after designs by Inigo Jones. His independent pro...

strawberry

(Encyclopedia)strawberry, any plant of the genus Fragaria of the family Rosaceae (rose family), low herbaceous perennials with edible red fruits, native to temperate and mountainous tropical regions. The European e...