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artichoke

(Encyclopedia)artichoke, name for two different plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family), both having edible parts. The French, or globe, artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is a thistlelike plant of which the globul...

agouti

(Encyclopedia)agouti əgo͞oˈtē [key], name applied to rabbit-sized rodents of the genus Dasyprocta, found in Central and South America and in the West Indies. They have slender limbs with five front and three hi...

capybara

(Encyclopedia)capybara kăpĭbârˈə [key], mammal of Central and much of South America. It is the largest living member of the order Rodentia (the rodents) reaching a length of 4 ft (120 cm) and a weight of 75 to...

blue jay

(Encyclopedia)blue jay, common name for a familiar bird (Cyanocitta cristata) of central and E North America, allied to the crow, the raven, and the magpie, belonging to the family Corvidae. Almost a foot (30 cm) l...

black widow

(Encyclopedia)black widow, poisonous spider of the genus Latrodectus, found throughout North and South America and common in the SW United States. The name derives from the fact that the female, like those of many ...

dengue fever

(Encyclopedia)dengue fever dĕngˈgē, –gā [key], acute infectious disease caused by four closely related viruses and transmitted by the bite of the female Aedes mosquito; it is also known as breakbone fever and...

coral snake

(Encyclopedia)coral snake, name for poisonous New World snakes of the same family as the Old World cobras. About 30 species inhabit Mexico, Central America, and N South America; two are found in the United States. ...

head-hunting

(Encyclopedia)head-hunting, practice of taking and preserving the head of a slain enemy. It has occurred throughout the world from ancient times into the 20th cent. In Europe, it flourished in the Balkans until the...

pitcher plant

(Encyclopedia)pitcher plant, any of several insectivorous plants with leaves adapted for trapping insects. Each leaf forms a “pitcher,” a somewhat trumpet-shaped enclosure, usually containing a liquid. An insec...

pomegranate

(Encyclopedia)pomegranate pŏmˈgrănĭt, pŏmˈə– [key], handsome deciduous and somewhat thorny large shrub or small tree (Punica granatum) belonging to the family Punicaceae, native to semitropical Asia and na...