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bugbane

(Encyclopedia)bugbane, any plant of the genus Cimicifuga, tall north-temperate perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). The white spirelike bloom has a rank odor that attracts flies, which pollina...

carpet beetle

(Encyclopedia)carpet beetle, name for several beetles that are highly destructive to carpets and upholstery and are classified in the same family as the larder beetles. Adult beetles of this family are pollen eater...

rat

(Encyclopedia)rat, name applied to various stout-bodied rodents, usually having a pointed muzzle, long slender tail, and dexterous forepaws. It refers particularly to the two species of house rat, Rattus norvegicus...

rudbeckia

(Encyclopedia)rudbeckia rədbĕkˈēə [key]: see black-eyed Susan. ...

Dingwall

(Encyclopedia)Dingwall dĭngˈwôl, –wəl [key], town, Highland, N Scotland, at the head of Cromarty Firth. It is ...

James, Cyril Lionel Robert

(Encyclopedia)James, C. L. R., 1901–1989, Trinidadian historian, journalist, and communist activist, b. Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago. A social theorist, anti-colon...

Usk

(Encyclopedia)Usk, river, c.60 mi (100 km) long, rising in the Black Mts., S Wales and flowing generally SE to Bristol Channel near Newport. The upper Usk is noted for its beauty and its excellent fishing. It is th...

Tirebolu

(Encyclopedia)Tirebolu tĭrĕˈbōlo͞o [key], anc. Tripolis, town, N Turkey, a port on the Black Sea. Its exports include copper, manganese, and zinc. The remains of a Byzantine fortress are there. ...

Mosley, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Mosley, Walter, 1952–, African-American author, b. Los Angeles. He was a computer programmer until his first novel, the best-selling mystery Devil in a Blue Dress (1990; film, 1995), was published. ...

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