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spinel

(Encyclopedia) spinel, magnesium aluminum oxide, MgAl2O4, a mineral crystallizing in the isometric system, usually as octahedrons. It occurs as an accessory mineral in basic igneous rocks, in…

craquelure

(Encyclopedia) craquelurecraquelurekrăkl&oobreve;rˈ [key], hairline surface cracking of paintings into characteristic patterns determined by age, climatic conditions, and the materials used in…

crabgrass

(Encyclopedia) crabgrass, name for any of several grass species of the genera Digitaria, Eleusine, and Panicum, especially the species D. sanguinalis. Crabgrass is a common lawn weed, especially in…

broom rape

(Encyclopedia) broom rape, common name for plants of the Orobanchaceae, the broom rape family. They are parasitic on the roots of other plants; they have small leaves and little or no green color. In…

tallow

(Encyclopedia) tallow, solid fat extracted from the tissues and fatty deposits of animals, especially from suet (the fat of cattle and sheep). Pure tallow is white, odorless and tasteless; it…

wandering jew, in botany

(Encyclopedia) wandering jew, common name for several creeping plants of the genus Tradescantia (including Zebrina) in the spiderwort family. T. pendula is most commonly cultivated in window boxes…

strangler fig

(Encyclopedia) strangler fig, common name for a number of tropical plant species, most of them are in the family Moraceae (fig family). They include the golden fig, Ficus aurea, of the SE United…

auk

(Encyclopedia) aukaukôk [key], common name for a member of the family Alcidae (alcid family), swimming and diving birds of the N Atlantic and Pacific, which includes the guillemots and puffins. Their…

earwig

(Encyclopedia) earwig, common name for any of the smooth, elongated insects of the order Dermaptera. Earwigs are small, with pairs of horny, forcepslike abdominal appendages, larger in the male than…

evening primrose

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Evening primrose, Oenothera biennis evening primrose, common name for the Onagraceae, a family of plants of worldwide distribution, most species of which grow as herbs in the…