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blue-green algae

(Encyclopedia)blue-green algae, popular name for those microorganisms that are now more properly called cyanobacteria. ...

Colorado–Big Thompson project

(Encyclopedia)Colorado–Big Thompson project, constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to divert water from the headstreams of the Colorado River to irrigate c.720,000 acres (291,400 hectares) of land in NE C...

chrysoberyl

(Encyclopedia)chrysoberyl krĭsˈəbĕrˌĭl [key] [Gr.,=golden beryl], a beryllium aluminate used as a gem. It has a vitreous luster and is transparent to translucent. The more valuable cat's-eye is a variety of c...

olivine

(Encyclopedia)olivine ŏlĭvˈēn [key], an iron-magnesium silicate mineral, (Mg,Fe)2SiO4, crystallizing in the orthorhombic system. It is a common constituent of magnesium-rich, silica-poor igneous rocks; metamorp...

Equisetophyta

(Encyclopedia)Equisetophyta ĕkˌwəsətŏfˈətə [key], small division of the plant kingdom consisting of the plants commonly called horsetails and scouring rushes. Equisetum, the only living genus in this divisi...

garnet

(Encyclopedia)garnet, name applied to a group of isomorphic minerals crystallizing in the cubic system. They are used chiefly as gems and as abrasives (as in garnet paper). The garnets are double silicates; one of ...

bird of paradise

(Encyclopedia)bird of paradise, common name for any of 43 species of medium- to crow-sized passerine birds of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, known for the bright plumage, elongated tail feathers called wires,...

chloroplast

(Encyclopedia)chloroplast klōrˈəplăstˌ, klôrˈ– [key], a complex, discrete green structure, or organelle, contained in the cytoplasm of plant cells. Chloroplasts are reponsible for the green color of almost...

Herrera, Carmen

(Encyclopedia)Herrera, Carmen, 1915–, Cuban-American abstract painter, b. Havana. After studying architecture at the Univ. of Havana (1938–39), she trained at the Art Students League, New York (1942–43), then...
 

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