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ribbon grass

(Encyclopedia)ribbon grass, ornamental perennial grass (Phalaris arundinacea var. picta), a variety of the reed canary grass. It has green leaves striped with white and is often cultivated in gardens; it is also kn...

Fitch, Clyde

(Encyclopedia)Fitch, Clyde (William Clyde Fitch), 1865–1909, American dramatist, b. Elmira, N.Y. An extremely prolific and versatile playwright, he wrote over 36 original plays, including melodramas, farces, soci...

Treece, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Treece, Henry, 1912–66, English poet and novelist. He served as an intelligence officer in the Royal Air Force during World War II, after which he taught school for many years. He is noted chiefly f...

aquamarine

(Encyclopedia)aquamarine ăkˌwəmərēnˈ, äkˌ– [key] [Lat.,=seawater], transparent beryl with a blue or bluish-green color. Sources of the gems include Brazil, Siberia, the Union of Myanmar, Madagascar, and p...

anglesite

(Encyclopedia)anglesite ăngˈgləsīt [key], pale green, blue, yellow-to-white, or colorless mineral, a sulfate of lead, PbSO4, that is formed by oxidation of galena, crystallizing in the orthorhombic system and o...

peacock

(Encyclopedia)peacock or peafowl, large bird of the genus Pavo, in the pheasant family, native to E Asia. There are two main species, the common (Pavo cristatus), and the Javanese (P. musticus) peacocks, both found...

vetch

(Encyclopedia)vetch, common name for many weak-stemmed, leguminous herbs of the genus Vicia of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). The vetches are chiefly annuals, distributed over temperate regions of the North...

amaranth

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Green amaranth, Amaranthus retroflexus amaranth ămˈərănthˌ [key] [Gr.,=unfading], common name for the Amaranthaceae (also commonly known as the pigweed family), a family of herbs, trees, ...

Gallant, Mavis

(Encyclopedia)Gallant, Mavis (Mavis Leslie Young Gallant) gă-lăntˈ [key], 1922–2014, Canadian writer, b. Montreal. After graduating from high school, she was a newspaper feature writer in Montreal (1944–50),...

Perrot, Nicolas

(Encyclopedia)Perrot, Nicolas pĕrōˈ [key], 1644–c.1718, French explorer in Canada and the Old Northwest. He came to New France as a child and, in service of the Jesuit missionaries, became acquainted with the...