Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Warming, Johannes Eugenius Bülow

(Encyclopedia)Warming, Johannes Eugenius Bülow yōhänˈəs ĕo͝ogāˈnēo͝os büˈlou värmˈĭng [key], 1841–1924, Danish botanist, a founder of the science of plant ecology. He was a professor at the Univ. ...

Siegen, Ludwig von

(Encyclopedia)Siegen, Ludwig von lo͝otˈvĭkh fən zēˈgən [key], c.1609–1680, German engraver, b. Holland, educated in Germany. He is said to have invented (c.1640) the mezzotint process of engraving. Among h...

Barrington, George

(Encyclopedia)Barrington, George bârˈĭngtən [key], 1755–c.1804, notorious English pickpocket, b. Ireland. His family name was Waldron. Arriving in London in 1773, he became a professional pickpocket and, obta...

saxifrage

(Encyclopedia)saxifrage săkˈsĭfrĭj [key], common name for several members of the Saxifragaceae, a family of widely varying herbs, shrubs, and small trees of cosmopolitan distribution. They are found especially ...

indicators, acid-base

(Encyclopedia)indicators, acid-base, organic compounds that, in aqueous solution, exhibit color changes indicative of the acidity or basicity of the solution. Common indicators include p-nitrophenol, which is color...

globeflower

(Encyclopedia)globeflower, common name for any plant of the genus Trollius of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), hardy perennials of north temperate meadows and swamps. Their blossoms are larger than thos...

Hercules'-club

(Encyclopedia)Hercules'-club, common name for several small, thorny trees, chiefly the devil's-walking-stick of the family Aralaceae (ginseng family) and the prickly ash of the family Rutaceae (orange family). The ...

Sabine

(Encyclopedia)Sabine săbēnˈ [key], river, c.575 mi (925 km) long, rising on the prairies NE of Dallas, Tex. It flows SE across Texas, then south to mark the Texas–Louisiana line. Near its mouth it broadens to ...

Fort Nassau

(Encyclopedia)Fort Nassau. 1 Built (1614) on Castle Island, in the Hudson River, S of Albany, N.Y. The fort served as a trading post for the Dutch until 1617, when it was destroyed by flood and replaced (1624) by F...

Eichler, August Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Eichler, August Wilhelm ouˈgo͝ost vĭlˈhĕlm īkhˈlər [key], 1839–87, German botanist. He worked out the symmetry of the parts of a flower and developed a system of plant classification which, ...