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saxifrage

(Encyclopedia)saxifrage săkˈsĭfrĭj [key], common name for several members of the Saxifragaceae, a family of widely varying herbs, shrubs, and small trees of cosmopolitan distribution. They are found especially ...

Illinois, University of

(Encyclopedia)Illinois, University of, main campus at Urbana-Champaign; land-grant with state and federal support; coeducational; chartered 1867, opened 1868 as Illinois Industrial Univ., renamed 1885. It pioneered...

grape hyacinth

(Encyclopedia)grape hyacinth, any plant of the genus Muscari of the family Liliaceae (lily family), low plants with dense spikelike clusters of small, nodding flowers that are usually deep blue. Of more than 50 Old...

Frobenius, Leo

(Encyclopedia)Frobenius, Leo lāˈō frōbāˈnēo͝os [key], 1873–1938, German archaeologist and anthropologist. An authority on prehistoric art and culture, especially of Africa, he organized 12 expeditions to ...

Ausable Chasm

(Encyclopedia)Ausable Chasm ôsāˈbəl [key], gorge, 2 mi (3.2 km) long, from 20 to 50 ft (6–15 m) wide, from 100 to 200 ft (30–61 m) deep, NE N.Y. The chasm, with its rapids, waterfalls, and curious rock form...

Asbury Park

(Encyclopedia)Asbury Park, city, Monmouth co., E N.J. An Atlantic resort noted for its beach, boardwalk, and convention hall, it declined in the late 20th cent. but has undergone a revival in the 21st. ...

ash, in chemistry

(Encyclopedia)ash, in chemistry, solid residue of combustion. The chemical composition of an ash depends on that of the substance burned. Wood ash contains metal carbonates (e.g., potassium carbonate) and oxides fo...

Keokuk, chief of the Sac and Fox

(Encyclopedia)Keokuk kēˈəkək [key], c.1780–1848, Native American, chief of the Sac and Fox, b. near present-day Rock Island, Ill. When Black Hawk supported the British in the War of 1812, Keokuk refused to jo...

candytuft

(Encyclopedia)candytuft, any plant of the genus Iberis of the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family), low-growing plants of the Old World. A number of half-hardy annuals and evergreen perennials are cu...

Belle Isle, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Belle Isle, Strait of bĕlīlˈ [key], c.35 mi (60 km) long and from 10 to 15 mi (16–24 km) wide, between the island of Newfoundland and Labrador-Ungava peninsula, Canada. The northern entrance to t...