(Encyclopedia) magnolia, common name for plants of the genus Magnolia, and for the Magnoliaceae, a family of deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs, often with showy flowers. They are principally of…
(Encyclopedia) milkweed, common name for members of the Asclepiadaceae, a family of mostly perennial herbs and shrubs characterized by milky sap, a tuft of silky hairs attached to the seed (for wind…
(Encyclopedia) Bontecou, LeeBontecou, Leebŏnˈtək&oomacr; [key], 1931–, American artist, b. Providence, R.I. Bontecou is best known for the abstract sculptures she created from 1959–1967, three-…
(Encyclopedia) bowerbird, common name for any of several species of birds of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, native to Australia and New Guinea, which build, for courtship display, a bower of sticks or…
(Encyclopedia) Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911–79, American poet, b. Worcester, Mass., grad. Vassar, 1934. During the 1950s and 60s she lived in Brazil, eventually returning to her native New England, where…
(Encyclopedia) Smith, Kiki, 1954–, American sculptor and printmaker, b. Nuremberg, Germany. The daughter of sculptor Tony Smith, she grew up in New Jersey and settled in New York City in 1976.…
(Encyclopedia) sunflower, any plant of the genus Helianthus of the family Asteraceae (aster family), annual or perennial herbs native to the New World and common throughout the United States. In…
(Encyclopedia) belladonnabelladonnabĕlədŏnˈə [key] or deadly nightshade, poisonous perennial plant, Atropa belladona, of the nightshade family. Native to Europe and now grown in the United States,…
(Encyclopedia) sea anemonesea anemoneənĕmˈənēˌ [key], any of the relatively large, predominantly solitary polyps (see polyp and medusa) of the class Anthozoa, phylum Cnidaria. Unlike the closely…
(Encyclopedia) peyotepeyotepāōˈtē [key], spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii), ingested by indigenous people in Mexico and the United States to produce visions. The plant is native to the SW…
