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crane fly

(Encyclopedia)crane fly, true fly resembling a mosquito, often called daddy longlegs because of its six long, delicate legs. (The harvestman, also called daddy longlegs, belongs to an unrelated order.) Most species...

self-heal

(Encyclopedia)self-heal or heal-all, weedy perennial (Prunella vulgaris) with the typical angular stems and bluish flowers of the family Labiatae (mint family). Although it probably originated in the Old World, sel...

shepherd's-purse

(Encyclopedia)shepherd's-purse, annual herb (Capsella bursa-pastoris) of the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family), indigenous to Europe but now a nearly cosmopolitan weed in temperate regions. It is ...

Purbeck

(Encyclopedia)Purbeck, district (1991 pop. 42,600), Dorset, England. Purbeck is filled with the clays of the Hampshire Basin, and is therefore largely infertile. Some minor farming occurs on the chalk plateaus and ...

quaking grass

(Encyclopedia)quaking grass, any plant of the genus Briza, annuals or perennials of the Poaceae (grass family), cultivated for the graceful clusters of seeds, which vibrate in a breeze and are used in everlasting b...

rhizome

(Encyclopedia)rhizome rīˈzōm [key] or rootstock, fleshy, creeping underground stem by means of which certain plants propagate themselves. Buds that form at the joints produce new shoots. Thus if a rhizome is cut...

Virgin Islands National Park

(Encyclopedia)Virgin Islands National Park, 14,689 acres (5,949 hectares), St. John, Virgin Islands; est. 1956. The park, with beaches, coves, and headlands, is rich in tropical-plant, animal, and marine life. Bord...

strawflower

(Encyclopedia)strawflower, garden annual (Helichrysum bracteatum) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), a favorite as an everlasting but also grown for its fresh flowers. The plant is native to Australia. The fl...

Calvin, Melvin

(Encyclopedia)Calvin, Melvin, 1911–97, American organic chemist and educator, b. St. Paul, Minn., grad. Michigan College of Mining and Technology, 1931, Ph.D. Univ. of Minnesota, 1935. In 1937 he joined the facul...

Brown, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Robert, 1773–1858, Scottish botanist and botanical explorer. In 1801 he went as a naturalist on one of Matthew Flinders's expeditions to Australia, returning (1805) to England with valuable c...