Poison hemlock, lethally poisonous herbaceous plant (Conium maculatum) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family). It has rank, finely divided foliage, flat-topped clusters of small white flo...

Spruce, any plant of the genus Picea, evergreen trees or shrubs of the family Pinaceae (pine family) widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. The needles are angular in cross section, ra...

Yew, name for evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Taxus, somewhat similar to hemlock but bearing red berrylike fruits instead of true cones. Of somber appearance, with dark green leaves, th...

Tannin, tannic acid, or gallotannic acid, astringent vegetable product found in a wide variety of plants. Sources include the bark of oak, hemlock, chestnut, and mangrove; the leaves of certai...

Poisonous plant, any plant possessing a property injurious to man or animal. Plants may be poisonous to the touch (e.g., poison ivy, poison sumac), or orally toxic (e.g., poison hemlock, deadl...

Twachtman, John Henry, 1853–1902, American landscape painter and etcher, b. Cincinnati. He studied in Cincinnati under Duveneck and in Munich and Paris, but was influenced principally by the i...

Hedge, ornamental or protective barrier composed of shrubs or small trees growing in close rows. The plants may be allowed to grow naturally or may be trimmed to various heights and shapes (se...

Sweet cicely, name for the European herb Myrrhis odorata and for closely related American and Asian plants of the genus Osmorhiza, all of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family). Both sweet c...

Phocion, c.402–318 B.C., Athenian general. He served successfully against the forces of Philip of Macedon—in Euboea (now Évvoia; 348 B.C.) and at Byzantium (339), when he forced Philip to aban...

Wilson, Sir Angus, 1913–91, English novelist, b. South Africa. As a novelist, he attempted to delineate a society in which traditional values have lost their force and human relationships are ...