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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...

hermaphrodite

(Encyclopedia)hermaphrodite hərmăfˈrədītˌ [key], animal or plant that normally possesses both male and female reproductive systems, producing both eggs and sperm. Many plants, including most flowering plants ...

Indian pipe

(Encyclopedia)Indian pipe, common name for the genus Monotropa and for the family Monotropaceae, low flowering plants of north temperate zones. They are chlorophylless saprophytes with a funguslike appearance. Each...

cutting

(Encyclopedia)cutting, in horticulture, part of a plant stem, leaf, or root cut off and used for producing a new plant. It is a convenient and inexpensive method of propagation, not possible for all plants but used...

secretion

(Encyclopedia)secretion, in biology, substance elaborated by the living material of an animal or plant. Secretions in humans can be produced by a single cell or by a group of cells commonly called a gland. Some sec...

biennial

(Encyclopedia)biennial, plant requiring two years to complete its life cycle, as distinguished from an annual or a perennial. In the first year a biennial usually produces a rosette of leaves (e.g., the cabbage) an...

Kremenchuk

(Encyclopedia)Kremenchuk krĭmĭncho͞okˈ [key], Rus. Kremenchug, city (1989 pop. 237,000), central Ukraine, on the Dnieper River. It is the center of an industrial complex based on a hydroelectric plant; construc...

diseases of plants

(Encyclopedia)diseases of plants. Most plant diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Although the term disease is usually used only for the destruction of live plants, the action of dry rot and the rot...

aphid

(Encyclopedia)aphid or plant louse, tiny, usually green, soft-bodied, pear-shaped insect injurious to vegetation. It is also called greenfly and blight. Aphids are mostly under 1⁄4 in. (6 mm) long. Some are wingl...

halophyte

(Encyclopedia)halophyte hălˈəfītˌ [key], any plant, especially a seed plant, that is able to grow in habitats excessively rich in salts, such as salt marshes, sea coasts, and saline or alkaline semideserts and...