Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

cypress, in botany

(Encyclopedia)cypress, common name for members of the Cupressaceae, a widely distributed family of coniferous shrubs and trees, several yielding valuable timber. The major genera are Juniperus (juniper), Thuja (arb...

Prudhoe Bay

(Encyclopedia)Prudhoe Bay, inlet of the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean, N Alaska, in the Alaska North Slope region, east of the Colville River delta. In 1968 one of the largest oil reserves in North America was disc...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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...

Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of, 1771–1820, Scottish philanthropist, founder of the Red River Settlement. Emigration to America seemed to him the best solution for the poverty of his countrymen...

dogwood

(Encyclopedia)dogwood or cornel kôrˈnəl [key], shrub or tree of the genus Cornus, chiefly of north temperate and tropical mountain regions, characteristically having an inconspicuous flower surrounded by large, ...