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root crop

(Encyclopedia)root crop, vegetable cultivated chiefly for its edible roots, e.g., the beet, turnip, mangel-wurzel, carrot, and parsnip. All root crops have a large water content and grow best in deeply cultivated s...

Portales

(Encyclopedia)Portales pôrtălˈĭs [key], city (1990 pop. 10,690), seat of Roosevelt co., E N.Mex., near the Tex. line; inc. 1910. It is the trade and processing center of an agricultural area. There is food proc...

Ballarat

(Encyclopedia)Ballarat bălˈərătˈ [key], city, Victoria, SE Australia. It is an industrial center; clothing, ...

Beloit

(Encyclopedia)Beloit bəˈloit [key], city (2020 pop. 36,657), Rock co., S Wis., on the Rock River; inc. 18...

giant clam

(Encyclopedia)giant clam, common name for the largest bivalve mollusk in the world, Tridacna gigas, also known as the bear's paw clam. The giant clam may weigh over 500 lb (225 kg) and attain a length of over 4 ft ...

germination

(Encyclopedia)germination, in a seed, process by which the plant embryo within the seed resumes growth after a period of dormancy and the seedling emerges. The length of dormancy varies; the seed of some plants (e....

norovirus

(Encyclopedia)norovirus or Norwalk virus, highly contagious viral disease caused by infection with an RNA virus of the genus Norovirus. The virus causes acute gastroenteritis, usually one to two days after infectio...

bile

(Encyclopedia)bile, bitter alkaline fluid of a yellow, brown, or green color, secreted, in man, by the liver. Bile, or gall, is composed of water, bile acids and their salts, bile pigments, cholesterol, fatty acids...

Adygey Republic

(Encyclopedia)Adygey Republic ədĭgyĕˈ [key] or Adygeya, formerly Adyge Autonomous Region, constituent republic (1990 est. pop. 435,000), c.2,935 sq mi (7,600 sq km), an enclave within Krasnodar Territory, SE Eu...

salicylic acid

(Encyclopedia)salicylic acid or 2-hydroxybenzoic acid, C6H4(OH)CO2H, a colorless, crystalline organic carboxylic acid that melts at 159℃; it is soluble in ethanol and ether but is only slightly soluble in water. ...