Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

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...

Pfeffer, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Pfeffer, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm pfĕˈfər [key], 1845–1920, German plant physiologist. He was professor of botany successively at the universities of Bonn, Basel, Tübingen, and Leipzig (from 1887). W...

saprophyte

(Encyclopedia)saprophyte săpˈrəfītˌ [key], any plant that depends on dead plant or animal tissue for a source of nutrition and metabolic energy, e.g., most fungi (molds) and a few flowering plants, such as Ind...

Aiken

(Encyclopedia)Aiken, city (2020 pop. 32,025), seat of Aiken co., W S.C.; inc. 1835. A resort and polo center and a training area for Thoroughbreds, Aiken has apparel, printing and publishing, drug, and ...

star-of-Bethlehem, in botany

(Encyclopedia)star-of-Bethlehem, in botany, low, spring-blooming bulbous plant (Ornithogalum umbellatum) of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native to the Mediterranean region but naturalized in North America an...

Rjukan

(Encyclopedia)Rjukan rēo͞oˈkän [key], town, Telemark co., S Norway, on the Rjukanfoss, one of several high waterfalls of the Måne River. Its large power stations supply electricity to saltpeter and chemical fe...

blight

(Encyclopedia)blight, general term for any sudden and severe plant disease or for the agent that causes it. The term is now applied chiefly to diseases caused by bacteria (e.g., bean blights and fire blight of frui...

woad

(Encyclopedia)woad, name for a perennial plant (Isatis tinctoria) of the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family) and for a blue dye obtained from its leaves. The plant is believed to be native to S Russ...

tissue culture

(Encyclopedia)tissue culture, the propagation of plants through the placement of small amounts of undifferentiated tissue or single cells in an artificial environment. The tissue is placed in a nutrient medium that...

New Zealand spinach

(Encyclopedia)New Zealand spinach, succulent annual (Tetragonia expansa) of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and S South America, grown for the edible leaves. The plant grows prostrate, often spreading to cover sever...