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Weller, Thomas Huckle

(Encyclopedia)Weller, Thomas Huckle, 1915–2008, American microbiologist and physician, b. Ann Arbor, Mich., B.A. Univ. of Michigan, 1936, M.D. Harvard, 1940. In 1936 he began teaching at Harvard, and as a special...

Brazil nut

(Encyclopedia)Brazil nut, common name for the Lecythidaceae, a family of tropical trees. It includes the anchovy pear (Grias cauliflora), a West Indian species with edible fruit used for pickles, and several lumber...

Biscayne Bay

(Encyclopedia)Biscayne Bay bĭskānˈ [key], shallow, narrow inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, c.40 mi (60 km) long, SE Fla. Famous resort areas, including Miami and Miami Beach, are on the NW and NE respectively. Touri...

soapberry

(Encyclopedia)soapberry, common name for the plant family Sapindaceae, a primarily tropical family of trees, shrubs, lianas, and herbaceous climbers, as well as a genus, Sapindus, in that family found in Asia and t...

Suva

(Encyclopedia)Suva so͞oˈvä [key], city (1993 est. pop. 80,000), capital of Fiji, on the southeastern coast of Viti Levu island, S Pacific. It is a major shipping and commercial center of the S Pacific producing ...

Tikal

(Encyclopedia)Tikal tēkälˈ [key], ruined city of the Classic Period of the Maya, N central Petén, Guatemala. The largest and possibly the oldest of the Maya cities, Tikal consists of nine groups of courts and p...

tilefish

(Encyclopedia)tilefish, common name for a superior and brilliantly colored food fish of temperate and tropical waters, marked by fleshy flaps on the top of the head and at the corners of the mouth. It is a bottom f...

tonka bean

(Encyclopedia)tonka bean tŏngˈkə [key], black-skinned, aromatic, almondlike single seed from the pod of any tall leguminous tree of the genus Dipteryx in the family Leguminosae (pulse family) of tropical South A...

sapodilla

(Encyclopedia)sapodilla, the edible fruit of Manilkara zapota (formerly Achras zapota), of the family Sapotaceae. The fleshy, brown fruit is the size of a small tomato, and has the flavor and texture of cinnamon, a...

roller

(Encyclopedia)roller, common name for brightly colored Old World birds noted for performing somersaults in flight. They include the rollers proper (subfamily Coraciinae) and ground rollers (subfamily Brachypteracii...