Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

lespedeza

(Encyclopedia)lespedeza lĕsˌpədēˈzə [key] or bush clover, any plant of the genus Lespedeza, leguminous herbs or undershrubs of the family Leguminosae (pulse family); native to North America, Asia, and Austral...

logwood

(Encyclopedia)logwood, small, thorny tree (Haematoxylon campechianum) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family) native to tropical America and introduced into other tropical regions. The brown-red heartwood is the s...

lily of the valley

(Encyclopedia)lily of the valley, common name for either of the two species of Convallaria, spring-blooming perennials of the family Liliaceae (lily family). C. majalis, the species usually in cultivation, is nativ...

meadow rue

(Encyclopedia)meadow rue, any plant of the genus Thalictrum of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). Most are tall perennials (up to 7 ft/2.1 m high) bearing summer flowers with showy, pendent tassels of lon...

medlar

(Encyclopedia)medlar mĕdˈlər [key], small deciduous tree (Mespilus germanica) of the family Rosaceae (rose family), native to Europe and Asia. It has luxuriant foliage and large white or pinkish flowers; in the ...

marsh marigold

(Encyclopedia)marsh marigold, perennial spring-blooming Old World and North American plant (Caltha palustris) of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), found in wet places. It has rounded glossy leaves and la...

four-o'clock

(Encyclopedia)four-o'clock, common name for members of the Nyctaginaceae, a family of plants found in warm climates, especially in the Americas, chiefly as herbs but often in the tropics as shrubs or trees. Species...

Alcmaeonidae

(Encyclopedia)Alcmaeonidae ălkˌmēŏˈnĭdē [key], Athenian family powerful in the 7th, 6th, and 5th cent. b.c. Blamed for the murder of the followers of the would-be tyrant Cylon (c.632 b.c.), which had been or...

chinquapin

(Encyclopedia)chinquapin chĭngˈkəpĭn [key] [Algonquian], name for certain American species of the chestnut genus of the family Fagaceae (beech family) and for a related species, the golden chinquapin (Castanops...

chervil

(Encyclopedia)chervil chûrˈvəl [key], name for two similar edible Old World herbs of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family). The salad chervil is Anthriscus cerefolium. Its leaves, like those of the related di...