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angelfish

(Encyclopedia)angelfish, common name for certain members of the Pomacanthidae, a family of brightly colored reef-dwelling tropical fishes with compressed bodies and small mouths and teeth. They were formerly classi...

mesquite, in botany

(Encyclopedia)mesquite mĭskētˈ, mĕsˈkēt [key], any plant of the genus Prosopis, leguminous spiny trees or shrubs of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to tropical and subtropical regions. The seed ...

lapwing

(Encyclopedia)lapwing, common name for some members of the family Charadriidae, which includes the plovers. Lapwings are almost all inland or upland birds, found in all temperate and tropical regions except North A...

Leyte

(Encyclopedia)Leyte lāˈtē, –tā [key], island (1990 pop. 1,689,756), 2,785 sq mi (7,213 sq km), one of the Visayan Islands, the Philippines, between Luzon and Mindanao. A fertile agricultural land, it is the n...

leishmaniasis

(Encyclopedia)leishmaniasis lēshˌmənīˈəsĭs [key], any of a group of tropical diseases caused by parasitic protozoans of the genus Leishmania. The parasites live in dogs, foxes, rodents, and humans; they are ...

cacao

(Encyclopedia)cacao kəkäˈō, –kāˈ– [key], tropical tree (Theobroma cacao) of the family Sterculiaceae (sterculia family), native to South America, where it was first domesticated and was highly prized by t...

strawberry

(Encyclopedia)strawberry, any plant of the genus Fragaria of the family Rosaceae (rose family), low herbaceous perennials with edible red fruits, native to temperate and mountainous tropical regions. The European e...

white shark

(Encyclopedia)white shark, large, ferocious shark, Carcharodon carcharias. Also known as the great white shark and maneater, this shark can attack swimmers and boats without provocation, though it does not typicall...

vanilla

(Encyclopedia)vanilla, a plant of the genus Vanilla of the family Orchidaceae (orchid family). Vines of hot, damp climates, most are indigenous to Central and South America, especially Mexico, but are now cultivate...

tumbleweed

(Encyclopedia)tumbleweed, any of several plants, particularly abundant in prairie and steppe regions, that commonly break from their roots at maturity and, drying into a rounded tangle of light, stiff branches, rol...