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shepherd's-purse

(Encyclopedia)shepherd's-purse, annual herb (Capsella bursa-pastoris) of the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family), indigenous to Europe but now a nearly cosmopolitan weed in temperate regions. It is ...

crane fly

(Encyclopedia)crane fly, true fly resembling a mosquito, often called daddy longlegs because of its six long, delicate legs. (The harvestman, also called daddy longlegs, belongs to an unrelated order.) Most species...

Derg, Lough

(Encyclopedia)Derg, Lough lŏkh dĕrg [key], in Ireland. 1 Expansion of the Shannon River, 23 mi (37 km) long and 1 to 5 mi (1.6–8 km) wide, W central Republic of Ireland. On the lake is the republic's first (192...

Purbeck

(Encyclopedia)Purbeck, district (1991 pop. 42,600), Dorset, England. Purbeck is filled with the clays of the Hampshire Basin, and is therefore largely infertile. Some minor farming occurs on the chalk plateaus and ...

quaking grass

(Encyclopedia)quaking grass, any plant of the genus Briza, annuals or perennials of the Poaceae (grass family), cultivated for the graceful clusters of seeds, which vibrate in a breeze and are used in everlasting b...

gaillardia

(Encyclopedia)gaillardia gālärˈdēə [key], any plant of the genus Gaillardia of the Asteaceae family (aster family), including annual, biennial, and perennial herbs with showy heads of red and/or yellow ray flo...

Kigali

(Encyclopedia)Kigali kēgäˈlē [key], city (1997 pop. 330,000), central Rwanda, capital of Rwanda. It is the country's main administrative and economic center. The city has an international airport and road acces...

strawflower

(Encyclopedia)strawflower, garden annual (Helichrysum bracteatum) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), a favorite as an everlasting but also grown for its fresh flowers. The plant is native to Australia. The fl...

Brown, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Robert, 1773–1858, Scottish botanist and botanical explorer. In 1801 he went as a naturalist on one of Matthew Flinders's expeditions to Australia, returning (1805) to England with valuable c...

Calvin, Melvin

(Encyclopedia)Calvin, Melvin, 1911–97, American organic chemist and educator, b. St. Paul, Minn., grad. Michigan College of Mining and Technology, 1931, Ph.D. Univ. of Minnesota, 1935. In 1937 he joined the facul...