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giant African land snail

(Encyclopedia)giant African land snail, any of several species of large terrestrial snails of tropical Africa that have become agricultural pests in other regions of the world. The species include the giant African...

Ghats

(Encyclopedia)Ghats gŏts [key] [Hindi,=steps], two mountain ranges of S India, paralleling the coasts of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and forming two sides of the Deccan plateau. Anai Mudi (8,841 ft/2,695...

jasmine

(Encyclopedia)jasmine jĕsˈəmĭn [key], any plant of the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae (olive family). The genus, which includes shrubs and clambering plants, is an Old World group, chiefly of tropical an...

Jimson weed

(Encyclopedia)Jimson weed or Jamestown weed, large, coarse annual plant (Datura stramonium) of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family), native to warm-temperate and tropical regions of the New World, but long wid...

Johor Baru

(Encyclopedia)Johor Baru , jə– [key], city (1991 pop. 561,071), capital of Johor, Malaysia, S Malay Peninsula, opposite Singapore. The city is connected with Singapore by a stone causeway across the narrow Johor...

Kerala

(Encyclopedia)Kerala kĕrˈələ [key], state (2001 provisional pop. 31,838,619), 15,003 sq mi (38,858 sq km), SW India, on the Arabian Sea. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital. A wet tropical climate and coastal low...

marmoset

(Encyclopedia)marmoset märˈməzĕtˌ [key], name for many of the small, squirrellike New World monkeys of the family Callithricidae. Members of this family are all found in tropical South America, with one specie...

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...

tung oil

(Encyclopedia)tung oil, oil obtained from the seeds of a tropical tree, the tung tree (Aleurites fordii) of the spurge family, and from seeds of some related species, all from Indomalesia or W Pacifica. It is known...

wryneck

(Encyclopedia)wryneck, common name for a primitive, unspecialized bird of the genus Jynx. The name is said to derive from their habit of twisting their necks when disturbed. Unlike other members of the family Picid...