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loon

(Encyclopedia)loon, common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances. Like the grebes, loo...

partridge

(Encyclopedia)partridge, common name applied to various henlike birds of several families. The true partridges of the Old World are members of the pheasant family (Phasianidae); the common European or Hungarian spe...

poison hemlock

(Encyclopedia)poison hemlock, lethally poisonous herbaceous plant (Conium maculatum) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family). It has rank, finely divided foliage, flat-topped clusters of small white flowers, an...

flatfish

(Encyclopedia)flatfish, common name for any member of the unique and widespread order Pleuronectiformes containing over 500 species (including the flounder, halibut, plaice, sole, and turbot), 130 of which are Amer...

desert lily

(Encyclopedia)desert lily, common name for the species Hesperocallis undulata, a member of the family Liliaceae (lily family), found in the SW United States. ...

quillwort

(Encyclopedia)quillwort, common name for several species of the plant genus Isoetes, which grow in ponds, slow streams, and swampy places. See Lycopodiophyta. ...

lodgepole pine

(Encyclopedia)lodgepole pine, common name for the pine species Pinus contorta, found in the Rocky Mts. and the northwestern coast of the United States. ...

touch-me-not

(Encyclopedia)touch-me-not, common name for any plant of the genus Impatiens of the jewelweed family. I. balsamina is also called balsam. ...

drypoint

(Encyclopedia)drypoint, an intaglio printing process in which the lines are scratched directly into a metal plate with a needle; also, the print made from such a plate. Although it is often used in combination with...

Compton, Arthur Holly

(Encyclopedia)Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892–1962, American physicist, b. Wooster, Ohio, grad. College of Wooster (B.S., 1913), Ph.D. Princeton, 1916. He was professor and head of the department of physics at Washin...