Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Akranes

(Encyclopedia)Akranes äˈkränĕsˌ [key], town, SW Iceland, on a peninsula in the Faxaflói. It is a fishing port and industrial center, with a huge cement plant. ...

North Fork

(Encyclopedia)North Fork, river, c.100 mi (160 km) long, rising in the Ozarks, S Mo., and flowing S, into N Ark., to the White River. Near its mouth is Norfolk Dam (completed 1944), which impounds Norfolk Lake and ...

leaf mold

(Encyclopedia)leaf mold, crumbly brown humus typical of forest floors. It is composed of decayed leaves and other plant material mixed with soil. ...

Jerusalem artichoke

(Encyclopedia)Jerusalem artichoke, tuberous-rooted perennial (Helianthus tuberosus) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native to North America, where it was early cultivated by the indigenous inhabitants. In ...

nicotiana

(Encyclopedia)nicotiana nĭkōˌshēāˈnə [key], any plant of the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family). Most species are herbs native to tropical America, although there are a few North Am...

camellia

(Encyclopedia)camellia kəmēlˈyə [key] [for G. J. Kamel, a Moravian Jesuit missionary], any plant of the genus Camellia in the tea family, evergreen shrubs or small trees native to Asia but now cultivated extens...

bugbane

(Encyclopedia)bugbane, any plant of the genus Cimicifuga, tall north-temperate perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). The white spirelike bloom has a rank odor that attracts flies, which pollina...

amaryllis

(Encyclopedia)amaryllis ămˌərĭlˈĭs [key], common name for some members of the Amaryllidaceae, a family of mostly perennial plants with narrow, flat leaves and with lilylike flowers borne on separate, leafless...

quillwort

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

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. ...