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fisher

(Encyclopedia)fisher, name of a large North American marten, Martes pennanti. This carnivorous, largely arboreal mammal is found in hardwood forests of Canada, the extreme N United States, and mountain ranges of th...

ichneumon fly

(Encyclopedia)ichneumon fly ĭkno͞oˈmən [key], common name for a family of insects, related to the wasps, whose larvae are parasitic on many other insects. Over 3,000 species of ichneumon flies, also known as ic...

guava

(Encyclopedia)guava gwäˈvə [key], small evergreen tree or shrub of the genus Psidium of the family Myrtaceae (myrtle family), native to tropical America and grown elsewhere for its ornamental flowers and edible ...

Jordan, David Starr

(Encyclopedia)Jordan, David Starr, 1851–1931, American scientist and educator, b. Gainesville, N.Y., M.S. Cornell, 1872, M.D. Indiana Medical College, 1875, and studied under Louis Agassiz at Penikese Island. He ...

mountain beaver

(Encyclopedia)mountain beaver, stout, short-limbed North American rodent, Aplodontia rufa, not closely related to the true beaver. Also called sewellel beaver after the Chinook word for a robe made from its pelts, ...

noddy

(Encyclopedia)noddy, tropical tern including five species in the genus Anous. The name noddy is said to derive from their easy familiarity with man. Noddies are web-footed seabirds with long wings (though shorter t...

mimosa, in botany

(Encyclopedia)mimosa mĭmōˈsə [key], any tree, shrub, or herb of the genus Mimosa of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), chiefly tropical plants. They usually have feathery foliage and rounded clusters of fra...

linden, in botany

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Linden, Tilia americana linden, common name for the Tiliaceae, a family of chiefly woody shrubs and trees. Most genera are tropical, but the genus Tilia, commonly called linden, or lime tree, ...

Kalidasa

(Encyclopedia)Kalidasa käˌlĭdäˈsə [key], fl. 5th cent.?, Indian dramatist and poet. He is regarded as the greatest figure in classical Sanskrit literature. Except that he was retained by the Gupta court, no f...

kookaburra

(Encyclopedia)kookaburra ko͝okˈəbûrˌə [key], common name for a squat, long-tailed Australian kingfisher, Dacelo novaeguineae. It is one of the largest birds of the family Alcedinidae (kingfisher family). Beca...