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banana

(Encyclopedia)banana, name for several species of the genus Musa and for the fruits these produce. The banana plant—one of the largest herbaceous plants—is native to tropical Asia but now cultivated throughout ...

citrus fruits

(Encyclopedia)citrus fruits, widely used edible fruits of plants belonging to Citrus and related genera of the family Rutaceae (orange family). Included are the tangerine, citrange, tangelo, orange, pomelo, grapefr...

melon

(Encyclopedia)melon, fruit of Cucumis melo, a plant of the family Curcurbitaceae (gourd family) native to Asia and now cultivated extensively in warm regions. There are many varieties, differing in taste, color, an...

acerola

(Encyclopedia)acerola ăsˌərōˈlə [key] or barbados cherry, the edible fruit of Malpighia glabra, of the genera Bunchiosa and Malpighia of the family Malpighiaceae. The fleshy red stone fruits, about the size o...

Santa Clara, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Santa Clara sănˈtə klârˈə [key], city (1990 pop. 93,613), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1852. Part of the Silicon Valley high-technology manufacturing complex, the city produces a variety of e...

Comtat Venaissin

(Encyclopedia)Comtat Venaissin kəNtäˈ vənäsăNˈ [key] or Comtat, region of SE France, Vaucluse dept., comprising the territory around Avignon. Well-irrigated, it is a truck-farming and fruit-growing area. Com...

Akita, city, Japan

(Encyclopedia)Akita äˈkētä [key], city, capital of Akita prefecture, NW Honshu, Japan, on the Sea of Japan. A producer of petroleum products and chemicals, Akito city also has a lar...

cola

(Encyclopedia)cola or kola, tropical tree (genus Cola) of the family Sterculiaceae (sterculia family), native to Africa but now grown in other tropical regions. The fruit is a pod containing seeds from which is obt...

pastry

(Encyclopedia)pastry, general name for baked articles of food made of paste or having paste as a necessary ingredient. The name is also used for the paste itself. The essential elements of paste are flour, liquid (...

Joplin

(Encyclopedia)Joplin jŏpˈlĭn [key], city (1990 pop. 40,961), Jasper and Newton counties, SW Mo., at the edge of the Ozarks; settled c.1839, inc. 1873. It is a railroad center, the shipping and processing point o...