Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

bat

(Encyclopedia)bat, winged mammal of the order Chiroptera, which includes 900–1,000 species classified in about 200 genera and 17 families. Bats range in size from a wingspread of over 5 ft (150 cm) to a wingsprea...

Downing, Andrew Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Downing, Andrew Jackson, 1815–52, American horticulturist, rural architect, and landscape gardener, b. Newburgh, N.Y. With his brother Charles Downing, 1802–85, he took over the operation of the n...

dandelion

(Encyclopedia)dandelion [Eng. form of Fr.,=lion's tooth], any plant of the genus Taraxacum of the family Asteraceae (aster family), perennial herbs of wide distribution in temperate regions. The dandelion has a ros...

enset

(Encyclopedia)enset or false banana, large herbaceous plant, Ensete ventricosum, of the family Musaceae (the banana family), native to E and S Africa and grown for food in the Ethiopian highlands, where it is an im...

elm

(Encyclopedia)elm, common name for the Ulmaceae, a family of trees and shrubs chiefly of the Northern Hemisphere. Elm trees (genus Ulmus) have a limited use as hardwoods for timber, especially the rock or cork elm ...

ice cream

(Encyclopedia)ice cream, sweet frozen dessert, made from milk fat and solids, sugar, flavoring, a stabilizer (usually gelatin), and sometimes eggs, fruits, or nuts. The mix is churned at freezing temperature to att...

Hamadan

(Encyclopedia)Hamadan hämädänˈ [key], city, capital of Hamadan prov., W Iran, at the foot of Mt. Alwand. ...

Aargau

(Encyclopedia)Aargau ärˈgou [key], Fr. Argovie, canton, 542 sq mi (1,404 sq km), N Switzerland. Aarau is the capital. It is traversed by the Aare and Reuss rivers. Its fertile hills ...

Ghazni

(Encyclopedia)Ghazni gŭzˈnē [key], city, capital of Ghazni prov., E central Afghanistan, on the Ghazni R...

Montferrat

(Encyclopedia)Montferrat mŏntfərătˈ, –rätˈ [key], Ital. Monferrato, historic region of Piedmont, NW Italy, south of the Po River, now mostly in Alessandria prov. It is largely hilly, and wine, fruit, and ce...

Browse by Subject