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tragacanth

(Encyclopedia)tragacanth trăgˈəkănth [key] or gum tragacanth, gummy exudation from the leguminous shrub Astragalus gummifer and related pulse family plants of SE Europe and W Asia. It is obtained through incisi...

hop

(Encyclopedia)hop, herbaceous perennial vine of the family Moraceae (mulberry family), widely cultivated since early times for brewing purposes. The commercial hop (Humulus lupulus) is native to Eurasia but is now ...

Indian pipe

(Encyclopedia)Indian pipe, common name for the genus Monotropa and for the family Monotropaceae, low flowering plants of north temperate zones. They are chlorophylless saprophytes with a funguslike appearance. Each...

hawkweed

(Encyclopedia)hawkweed, any species of the genus Hieracium of the family Asteraceae (aster family), widely distributed perennials, chiefly of open fields. The small, dandelionlike flower heads are borne in clusters...

cystic fibrosis

(Encyclopedia)cystic fibrosis sĭsˈtĭk fībrōˈsĭs [key], inherited disorder of the exocrine glands (see gland), affecting children and young people; median survival is 25 years in females and 30 years in males...

tree

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Types of trees tree, perennial woody plant with a single main stem (the trunk, or bole) from which branches and twigs extend to form a characteristic crown of foliage. In general, a tree diffe...

Mitchell, Peter Dennis

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, Peter Dennis, 1920–92, British chemist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1950. A professor at the Univ. of Edinburgh (1955–63), Mitchell was named director of Glynn Research Laboratories in 1964. He for...

glycogen

(Encyclopedia)glycogen glīˈkəjən [key], starchlike polysaccharide (see carbohydrate) that is found in the liver and muscles of humans and the higher animals and in the cells of the lower animals. Chemically it ...

polycythemia

(Encyclopedia)polycythemia pŏlˌēsīthēˈmēə [key], condition characterized by an increase in the production of red blood cells, or erythrocytes, in the blood. Primary polycythemia, also called erythremia, or ...

psoriasis

(Encyclopedia)psoriasis sôrīˈəsĭs [key], occasionally acute but usually chronic and recurrent inflammation of the skin. The exact cause is unknown, but the disease appears to be an inherited, possibly autoimmu...