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shellac

(Encyclopedia)shellac, solution of lac in alcohol or acetone. In commerce the name is applied to the resinous substance (lac) itself rather than to the solution. It ranges in color from orange to light yellow depen...

tigernut

(Encyclopedia)tigernut, nearly cosmopolitan perennial (Cyperus esculentum) of the family Cyperaceae (sedge family) of the same genus as the papyrus plant. The tigernut has been cultivated since early times (chiefly...

trillium

(Encyclopedia)trillium or wake-robin trĭlˈēəm [key], any plant of the large genus Trillium, attractive spring wildflowers of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native to North America and E Asia. The leaves, p...

actinomycosis

(Encyclopedia)actinomycosis ăkˌtənōmīkōˈsĭs [key], chronic suppurative infection that occurs around the face and neck. The disease is characterized by the formation of abscesses, or pus-filled cavities, bel...

Rey, H. A.

(Encyclopedia)Rey, H. A., 1898–1977, German-American writer and illustrator of children's books, b. Hamburg as Hans Augusto Reyersbach. He and his wife, Margret Rey, 1906–1996, b. Hamburg as Margarete Elisabeth...

Rinehart, Mary Roberts

(Encyclopedia)Rinehart, Mary Roberts rīnˈhärt [key], 1876–1958, American novelist, b. Pittsburgh. A graduate nurse, she married Dr. Stanley M. Rinehart in 1896. The first of her many mystery stories, The Circu...

papaya

(Encyclopedia)papaya pəpīˈə [key], soft-stemmed tree (Carica papaya) of tropical America resembling a palm with a crown of palmately lobed leaves. It is cultivated for its melonlike yellow fruits eaten raw or c...

Ocmulgee

(Encyclopedia)Ocmulgee ōkmŭlˈgē [key], river, c.255 mi (410 km) long, formed SE of Atlanta, NW Ga., by the confluence of the Yellow, South, and Alcovy rivers. It flows SE past Macon to join the Oconee River and...

Virginia creeper

(Encyclopedia)Virginia creeper, native woody vine (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) of the family Vitaceae (grape family), tall growing and popular as a wall covering in the temperate United States. It has blue-black b...

Carolina parakeet

(Encyclopedia)Carolina parakeet, small, long-tailed bird, Canuropsis carolinensis, now believed extinct. The Carolina parakeet was the northernmost representative of the parrot family. It had green plumage with a y...