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date

(Encyclopedia) date, name for a palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and for its edible fruit. Probably native to Arabia and North Africa, it has from earliest times been a principal food in many desert and…

Genet, Jean

(Encyclopedia) Genet, JeanGenet, JeanzhäN [key]Genet, Jean zhənāˈ [key], 1910–86, French dramatist. Deserted by his parents as an infant, Genet spent much of his early life in reformatories and…

anise

(Encyclopedia) aniseaniseănˈĭs [key], annual plant (Pimpinella anisum) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the Mediterranean region but long cultivated elsewhere for its aromatic…

Bontecou, Lee

(Encyclopedia) Bontecou, LeeBontecou, Leebŏnˈtək&oomacr; [key], 1931–, American artist, b. Providence, R.I. Bontecou is best known for the abstract sculptures she created from 1959–1967, three-…

bowerbird

(Encyclopedia) bowerbird, common name for any of several species of birds of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, native to Australia and New Guinea, which build, for courtship display, a bower of sticks or…

verbena

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Hoary vervain, Verbena stricta verbena, common name for some members of the Verbenaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and trees (often climbing forms) of warmer regions of the…

vetch

(Encyclopedia) vetch, common name for many weak-stemmed, leguminous herbs of the genus Vicia of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). The vetches are chiefly annuals, distributed over temperate…

Bishop, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia) Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911–79, American poet, b. Worcester, Mass., grad. Vassar, 1934. During the 1950s and 60s she lived in Brazil, eventually returning to her native New England, where…

violet

(Encyclopedia) violet, common name for some members of the Violaceae, a family of chiefly perennial herbs (and sometimes shrubs, small trees, or climbers) found on all continents. Violets, including…

belladonna

(Encyclopedia) belladonnabelladonnabĕlədŏnˈə [key] or deadly nightshade, poisonous perennial plant, Atropa belladona, of the nightshade family. Native to Europe and now grown in the United States,…