Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

gherkin

(Encyclopedia)gherkin gûrˈkĭn [key], species of gourd of the cucumber genus. ...

devilfish

(Encyclopedia)devilfish, name applied to the manta ray and to an American species of octopus. ...

bullhead

(Encyclopedia)bullhead, common name for several species of fish. See catfish; sculpin. ...

sorrel

(Encyclopedia)sorrel, name for several plants, particularly species of dock (see buckwheat) and oxalis. ...

bristlecone pine

(Encyclopedia)bristlecone pine, common name for the pine species Pinus longaeva, found in the White Mountains of California. Specimens have been known to live some 5,000 years. ...

isopod

(Encyclopedia)isopod īˈsəpŏdˌ [key], common name for crustaceans belonging to the order Isopoda and in the same subclass as lobsters and crayfish. Isopods are characterized by their flattened bodies, lack of a...

indigo

(Encyclopedia)indigo [Span.; from Lat.,=Indian], important blue dyestuff used in printing inks and for vat dyeing of cotton (see dye). It was anciently produced in India and was known in Egypt, probably c.1600 b.c....

hybrid

(Encyclopedia)hybrid hīˈbrĭd [key], term applied by plant and animal breeders to the offspring of a cross between two different subspecies or species, and by geneticists to the offspring of parents differing in ...

hellebore

(Encyclopedia)hellebore hĕlˈəbôr [key], name usually for plants of the genus Helleborus of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), Eurasian perennials with attractive palmately divided leaves and flowers o...

harvestfish

(Encyclopedia)harvestfish, common name for a fish of the family Stromateidae (butterfish family), a family of fishes with almost circular bodies and small mouths. The butterfish, or dollarfish (genus Peprilus), is ...

Browse by Subject