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huckleberry

(Encyclopedia)huckleberry, any plant of the genus Gaylussacia, shrubs of the family Ericaceae (heath family), native to North and South America. The box huckleberry (G. brachycera) of E North America is evergreen a...

Jerusalem artichoke

(Encyclopedia)Jerusalem artichoke, tuberous-rooted perennial (Helianthus tuberosus) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native to North America, where it was early cultivated by the indigenous inhabitants. In ...

shell money

(Encyclopedia)shell money, medium of exchange consisting of shells, the most widely distributed type of ancient currency. Shells are particularly useful as money because they may be strung in long strips of proport...

Canadian National Railway

(Encyclopedia)Canadian National Railway, rail system in Canada and the United States, extending from coast to coast in Canada with many branch lines in each province and in the United States. The system began as an...

Middle Kingdom

(Encyclopedia)Middle Kingdom or Middle Country, Mandarin Zhongguo, Chinese name for China. It dates from c.1000 b.c., when it designated the Chou empire situated on the North China Plain. The Chou people, unaware o...

Verrazzano, Giovanni da

(Encyclopedia)Verrazzano, Giovanni da jōvänˈnē dä vĕrˌrätsäˈnō; vĕrˌəzäˈnō [key], c.1480–1527?, Italian navigator and explorer, in the service of France, possibly the first European to enter New ...

Hesburgh, Theodore Martin

(Encyclopedia)Hesburgh, Theodore Martin, 1917–2015, American educator and civil rights advocate, b. Syracuse, N.Y., grad. Pontifical Gregorian Univ. (1939), Catholic Univ. of America (Ph.D., 1945). A member of th...

Arias Sánchez, Oscar

(Encyclopedia)Arias Sánchez, Oscar ôsˈkär ärˈyäs sänˈchĕz [key], 1941–, president of Costa Rica (1986–90, 2006–). He was financial adviser to the president (1970–72), minister of national planning...

strawberry

(Encyclopedia)strawberry, any plant of the genus Fragaria of the family Rosaceae (rose family), low herbaceous perennials with edible red fruits, native to temperate and mountainous tropical regions. The European e...

vanilla

(Encyclopedia)vanilla, a plant of the genus Vanilla of the family Orchidaceae (orchid family). Vines of hot, damp climates, most are indigenous to Central and South America, especially Mexico, but are now cultivate...