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Sierre

(Encyclopedia)Sierre syĕr [key], Ger. Siders, town (1990 pop. 14,143), Valais canton, S Switzerland, on the Rhône River. A market town, it is the center of a rich horticultural region. There is a large aluminum p...

bur

(Encyclopedia)bur or burr, popular name for fruits that have barbed, pointed, or rough outgrowths. By clinging to the fur or hair of animals and the clothing of man they are transported from the parent plant, often...

will-o'-the-wisp

(Encyclopedia)will-o'-the-wisp, phenomenon known also as ignis fatuus and jack-o'-lantern. It is seen at night as a pale, flickering light over marshland. There is no generally accepted explanation for it; it may r...

essential oils

(Encyclopedia)essential oils, volatile oils that occur in plants and in general give to the plants their characteristic odors, flavors, or other such properties. Essential oils are found in various parts of the pla...

New Mexico State University

(Encyclopedia)New Mexico State University, at Las Cruces; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered and opened 1889 as a college. It became New Mexico State Univ. of Engineering, Agriculture, and Sci...

Miamisburg

(Encyclopedia)Miamisburg mīămˈēzbûrgˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 17,834), Montgomery co., SW Ohio, on the Miami River; laid out 1818, inc. 1932. It is a tobacco market with diverse agriculture, and metal and pape...

cucumber

(Encyclopedia)cucumber, fruit of Cucumis sativus, a species of gourd whose many varieties are descended from a plant native to Asia and Africa. Cucumber is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliops...

citronella

(Encyclopedia)citronella, common name for a grass, Cymbopogon nardus, the source of oil of citronella, used in perfumes and soaps and as an insect repellent. The plant, with bluish green, lemon-scented leaves, is c...

amyloplast

(Encyclopedia)amyloplast ămˈəlōplăstˌ [key], also called leucoplast, a nonpigmented organelle, or plastid, occurring in the cytoplasm of plant cells. Amyloplasts transform glucose, a simple sugar, into starch...

panama-hat palm

(Encyclopedia)panama-hat palm, perennial herb (Carludovica palmata) growing wild from Central America south to Bolivia. Despite its frondlike leaves it is not a true palm. The leaves are used to weave Panama hats, ...