Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) dogtooth violet, originally a name for the Old World plant Erythronium denscanis, now applied also to several North American species of the same genus of the family Liliaceae (lily family). The most c...

(Encyclopedia) mayflower, in botany, name for several spring-blooming plants. In England the hawthorn is called mayflower, or may; in North America the name is used for the trailing arbutus, the hepatica, and an her...

(Encyclopedia) Bloomer, Amelia Jenks, 1818–94, American reformer, b. Homer, N.Y. She was editor (1848–54) of the Lily, first published in Seneca Falls, N.Y., and devoted to women's rights and to temperance. In 1...

(Encyclopedia) smilax, common name for a florists' plant of two separate genera (Asparagus and Smilax), both of the family Liliaceae (lily family, although some botanists recognize smilax as a separate family, the S...

(Encyclopedia) grape hyacinth, any plant of the genus Muscari of the family Liliaceae (lily family), low plants with dense spikelike clusters of small, nodding flowers that are usually deep blue. Of more than 50 Old...

(Encyclopedia) Langtry, Lillie, 1853–1929, English actress, b. Jersey, Channel Islands; known as the Jersey Lily. One of the first English women of elevated social rank to go on the stage, she made her debut at th...

(Encyclopedia) Encke, Johann Franz yōˈhän fränts ĕngˈkə [key], 1791–1865, German astronomer. He was assistant (1816–22) and director (1822–25) of the observatory at Seeberg (near Gotha) and director (fr...

(Encyclopedia) bluebell, common name for several plants belonging to completely different classes, particularly the bellflower and the Virginia cowslip, or Virginia bluebell, of the family Boraginaceae (borage famil...

(Encyclopedia) lotus: see water lily.

(Encyclopedia) spatterdock: see water lily.