Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
61 results found
baobab
(Encyclopedia)baobab bäˈōbăbˌ, bāˈō– [key], gigantic tree, Adansonia digitata, of India and Africa, exceeded in trunk diameter only by the sequoia. The hollow trunks of living baobabs have been used for d...Salk, Jonas Edward
(Encyclopedia)Salk, Jonas Edward, 1914–95, American physician and microbiologist, b. New York City, B.S. College of the City of New York, 1934, M.D. New York Univ. College of Medicine, 1939. He did research on th...marmoset
(Encyclopedia)marmoset märˈməzĕtˌ [key], name for many of the small, squirrellike New World monkeys of the family Callithricidae. Members of this family are all found in tropical South America, with one specie...American Civil Liberties Union
(Encyclopedia)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Founded (1920) by such prominent figur...skink
(Encyclopedia)skink, a lizard of the family Scincidae, a large, diverse group found in a range of environments in temperate and tropical regions throughout most of the world. Skinks are generally small or medium-si...conifer
(Encyclopedia)conifer kŏnˈĭfûr [key] [Lat.,=cone-bearing], tree or shrub of the order Coniferales, e.g., the pine, monkey-puzzle tree, cypress, and sequoia. Most conifers bear cones and most are evergreens, tho...Levi, Primo
(Encyclopedia)Levi, Primo prēˈmō lāˈvē [key], 1919–87, Italian writer. A chemist of Jewish descent, Levi was sent to the concentration camp at Auschwitz during World War II. His first memoir, If This Is a M...mandrill
(Encyclopedia)mandrill, large monkey, Mandrillus sphinx, of central W Africa, related to the baboons. Mandrills are found in forests, while baboons live in open country. The fur of the mandrill is mostly dark brown...Perelman, S. J.
(Encyclopedia)Perelman, S. J. (Sidney Joseph Perelman) pĕrˈəlmən [key], 1904–79, American comic writer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. He entered the magazine world as a cartoonist for a New York weekly, soon turning from...pitcher plant
(Encyclopedia)pitcher plant, any of several insectivorous plants with leaves adapted for trapping insects. Each leaf forms a “pitcher,” a somewhat trumpet-shaped enclosure, usually containing a liquid. An insec...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-