Columbia Encyclopedia

(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...

(Encyclopedia) Benedict's solution, deep-blue alkaline solution used to test for the presence of the aldehyde functional group, −CHO. The substance to be tested is heated with Benedict's solution; formation of a b...

(Encyclopedia) putty, commonly a mixture of whiting (calcium carbonate) and boiled linseed oil. Other substances may be combined with the oil to make putties suitable for some specific purpose. For example, the red ...

(Encyclopedia) Pyramus and Thisbe pĭrˈəməs, thĭzˈbē [key], in classical mythology, youth and maiden of Babylon, whose parents opposed their marriage. Their homes adjoined, and they conversed through a crevice...

(Encyclopedia) thrush, bird, common name for members of the Turdidae, a large family of birds found in most parts of the world and noted for their beautiful song. The majority are modestly colored, with spotted unde...

(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...

(Encyclopedia) beryl bĕrˈĭl [key], mineral, a silicate of beryllium and aluminum, Be3Al2Si6O18, extremely hard, occurring in hexagonal crystals that may be of enormous size and are usually white, yellow, green, b...

(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...

(Encyclopedia) Rocky Mountain spotted fever, infectious disease caused by a rickettsia. The bacterium is harbored by wild rodents and other animals and is carried by infected ticks of several species that attach the...

(Encyclopedia) Barbarossa bärˌbərŏsˈə [key] [Ital.,=red-beard], surname of the Turkish corsair Khayr ad-Din (c.1483–1546). Barbarossa and his brother Aruj, having seized (1518) Algiers from the Spanish, plac...