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redbud

(Encyclopedia)redbud or Judas tree, name for trees and shrubs of the genus Cercis, handsome plants of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), covered along the branches in the early spring with deep rose or (rarely)...

baneberry

(Encyclopedia)baneberry, any plant of the small genus Actaea, north temperate perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family) sometimes cultivated for the handsome (though poisonous) berrylike fruits. Nat...

Wood, John

(Encyclopedia)Wood, John, 1704–1754, English architect, called Wood of Bath. When he went (1727) to Bath from Yorkshire to begin his career as a road surveyor, the city was at its height as a center of fashion. W...

Brooke, Rupert

(Encyclopedia)Brooke, Rupert, 1887–1915, English poet. At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Royal Naval Division, served at Antwerp, and was in the Dardanelles expedition when he died of blood poisoning a...

greenling

(Encyclopedia)greenling, common name for any of several species of carnivorous, spiny-finned fishes of the family Hexagrammidae, common in the Pacific Ocean, especially in the waters N of Monterey, Calif. Greenling...

geranium

(Encyclopedia)geranium, common name for some members of the Geraniaceae, a family of herbs and small shrubs of temperate and subtropical regions. Their long, beak-shaped fruits give them the popular names crane's-b...

Siepi, Cesare

(Encyclopedia)Siepi, Cesare chāˈzärā sēĕpˈē [key], 1923–2010, Italian opera singer, b. Milan. A classic basso cantante [singing bass], his warm, resonant voice was suited to for Mozart's operas, and the t...

blue jay

(Encyclopedia)blue jay, common name for a familiar bird (Cyanocitta cristata) of central and E North America, allied to the crow, the raven, and the magpie, belonging to the family Corvidae. Almost a foot (30 cm) l...

Fleming, Ian Lancaster

(Encyclopedia)Fleming, Ian Lancaster, 1908–64, English spy novelist, b. London. Son of a Conservative member of Parliament, Fleming was educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and Munich and Geneva universities and worked a...

Beckham, David

(Encyclopedia)Beckham, David (David Robert Joseph Beckham), 1975–, English soccer player known especially for the power and accuracy of his free kicks. After beginning to play on the Manchester United youth squad...