Birthwort, common name for the Aristolochiaceae, a family of shrubs and woody climbing vines found in the tropics and other warm regions. The largest genus, Aristolochia, includes several plan...

Zedoary, name for a perennial herb (Curcuma zedoaria) of the Zingiberaceae (ginger family) and for a spice consisting of its dried and pulverized aromatic rhizome. The plant, related to turmer...

Curry [Malayalam], condiment much used in India and elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East, in combination with rice, meat, and a variety of other dishes. It is compounded of such spices as tur...

Astaire, Fred, 1899–1987, American dancer, actor, and singer, b. Omaha, Nebr., as Frederick Austerlitz. After 1911 he and his sister Adele formed a successful Broadway vaudeville team. After h...

Kaduna, town (1991 est. pop. 302,000), N Nigeria. A commercial and industrial center of N Nigeria, Kaduna has cotton-textile, beverage, and furniture factories. It is a rail and road junction ...

Arrowroot, any plant of the genus Maranta, usually large perennial herbs, of the family Marantaceae, found chiefly in warm, swampy forest habitats of the Americas and sometimes cultivated for ...

Rhizome or rootstock, fleshy, creeping underground stem by means of which certain plants propagate themselves. Buds that form at the joints produce new shoots. Thus if a rhizome is cut by a cu...

Moore, Brian, 1921–99, Canadian-American novelist, b. Belfast, Northern Ireland. He emigrated to Canada in 1948, where he was a reporter for the Montreal Gazette. He later moved to the United ...

Essential oils, volatile oils that occur in plants and in general give to the plants their characteristic odors, flavors, or other such properties. Essential oils are found in various parts of...

Altgeld, John Peter, 1847–1902, American politician, governor of Illinois (1892–96), b. Germany. He was taken by his immigrant parents to Ohio, where he grew up with little formal schooling. A...