# Animals And Plants (T-Z)

Tabanus bovinus
see "Cleg"

Taenia
Taenia is a cestoda.

Taipan
The taipan is a type of small headed cobra.

Talbot
The talbot was a large, whitish hound with long hanging ears and heavy jaws bred for tacking and hunting. It is believed that the talbot was the forerunner of the modern bloodhound.

Tallow Tree
The tallow tree (Pentadesma butyracea) is a native of tropical Africa from whence it was introduced into Britain in 1822. It is a member of the order Guttiferae and bears large brilliant red flowers, followed by edible berries. It is so called on account of a kind of tallow obtained from the seeds.

Tamaricaceae
Tamaricaceae is a small natural order of polypetalous exogens. The species are either herbs or shrubs, inhabiting chiefly the basin of the Mediterranean. They have minute alternate simple leaves and usually small white or pink flowers in terminal spikes.

Tamarin
The tamarin are South American monkeys. They are active and restless.

Tamarind
Tamarind (Tamarinda indica) is a tropical evergreen tree of the leguminosae family native to the east and west Indies. The flowers are borne in loose racemes and are yellow with red markings. The fruit is edible.

Tamarinda indica
see "Tamarind"

Tamariscinaceae
see "Tamarisk"

Tamarisk
The Tamarisk is a plant of the genus Tamarix, order Tamariscinaceae. It is a graceful evergreen shrub or small tree with slender feathery branches and minute leaves found in sandy places.

Tamarix
see "Tamarisk"

Tanacetum
see "Tansy"

Tanagers
The tanagers (Tanagridae) are a family of American passerine birds closely allied to the finches. Tanagers are usually beautifully coloured, the female being duller in tint than the male. The diet consists largely of insects and fruits. The song is sweet, and the birds are bold and lively, and generally finch-like in habits.

Tanagridae
see "Tanagers"

Tanaidacea
Tanaidacea is a marine order of malacostraca with a reduced carapace and a short abdomen.

Tangerine
The tangerine is a small, flattened, deep-coloured, swett-scented variety of orange from Tangier.

Tangle
Tangle is a popular name for Laminaria digitata, a common British sea-weed.

Tank-worm
The tank-worm is a nematode worm found in mud in water tanks in India.

Tanrec
Tanrec (Centetes) is a genus of insectivorous mammals resembling the European hedgehog in appearance. They are found in Madagascar where they live in burrows excavated with their strong claws.

Tansy
Tansy (Tanacetum) is a genus of plants of the order Compositae. They have yellow corymbose flowers.

Tantalus
Tantalus is a genus of wading birds of the heron family.

Tapir
Tapir is the name of ungulate or hoofed animals forming the family Tapiridae. The nose resembles a short fleshy proboscis. There are four toes to the fore-feet and three to the hind-feet. The body is bulky and clumsy and the legs short. The animals are always found in forest regions, in the vicinity of water, and are nocturnal in their habits and shy and inoffensive.

Tapiridae
see "Tapir"

Tara
see "Taro"

Tara Fern
The Tara Fern is a species of fern found in New Zealand. The Maoris obtained a flour from its root which formed a staple part of their diet prior to British settlement.

Taraki
see "Baluchi"

Tarantula
The tarantula is a large black south European spider of the genus Lycosa with a slighly poisonous bite. The term is also popularly applied to various other large, especially hairy spiders from Africa and America.

Taraxacum
Taraxacum is a genus of herbaceous plants belonging to the order Compositae. The common dandelion is Taraxacum officinalis.

Tare
Tare or Vetch (Vicia sativa) is a leguminous plant of creeping habit, furnished with tendrils, and largely cultivated for fodder. It is indigenous to Britain.

Taro
Taro (Tara or Kalo) is a plant of the arum family cultivated in Pacific islands for its starchy, edible root.

Tarpan
The tarpan is a breed of wild horse found in Asia.

Tarpon
The tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) is a large silvery marine fish found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic. It reaches a length of two meters and a weight of almost 50 kg.

Tarragon
Tarragon is a perennial herb of the daisy family, native to the Mediterranean countries.

Tarsier
The tarsier (Tarsius) is a genus of mammals of the lemur family. It is about the size of a squirrel, fawn brown in colour with large eyes, large ears and a long tufted tail. The tarsier is a tree dwelling animal and eats lizards.

Tarsius
see "Tarsie"

Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus ursinus) is a strongly built nocturnal mammal, closely related to the thylacine and like it confined to the island of Tasmania. The head is disproportionately large, and the plantigrade feet and general build give the animal a resemblance to a small bear. Carnivorous in habbit, the Tasmanian devil will attack any kind of animal and can easily overpower a sheep.

Tasmanian wolf
see "Thylacine"

Tasmannia
Tasmannia is a genus of one Tasmanian and two Australian shrubs of the natural order Magnoliaceae.

Tatouay
The tatouay is a kind of armadillo remarkable for the undefended state of its tail which is devoid of the bony rings that inclose it in other armadillos.

Tautog
The tautog (Tautoga nigra) or black-fish is an American fish found on the coast of New England and valued as a food.

Taxaceae
Taxaceae is a sub order of Coniferae which includes the Yew tree.

Taxodium
Taxodium is a genus of hardy and half-hardy trees of the order Coniferae. They bear deciduous leaves and monoecious flowers. It includes the cypresses.

Taxodium distichum
see "Black Cypress"

Taxus
see "Yew"

Tayra
The tayra (Galera barbara) is a South American carnivorous animal allied to the glutton. It is black in colour with a large white patch on the breast.

Tea
Tea is an evergreen rosaceae. The infusion of the dried leaves is a popular beverage. It was introduced to England during the 17th century.

Teak
Teak (Tectona grandis) is a tropical Asian timber tree of the order Verbenaceae.

Teal
The teal (Nettion crecca) is a small British duck of the genus Querquedula. It is a fresh water form of duck, feeding mainly at night. It has a chestnut coloured head with a green eye patch. The upper surface is marked with black and white and the speculum is black, green and purple.

Teasel
The teasel is a plant of the genus Dipsacus. It is a herb with prickly leaves and flower heads.

Tecoma
Tecoma is a genus of plants of the natural order Bignoniaceae. They are trees or shrubs or climbing plants with unequally pinnate or digitate simple leaves, and terminal panicles of dusky red or orange flowers.

Tectibranchiata
Tectibranchiata is a division of gasteropodous mollusca with gills protected by the shell or the mantle, as with the sea-hare.

Tectona Grandis
see "Teak"

Teff
Teff (Eragrostis abyssinica) is a grain with seeds about the size of those of millet.

Teguexin
The teguexin is a species of lizard inhabiting tropical America. They grow to around 150cm long and can swim with ease and rapidity.

Teledu
The teledu is a stinking badger found in Java and Sumatra.

Teleostei
Teleostei is a large sub-class of fish distinguished by a bony skeleton.

Telosporidia
Telosporidia are a subclass of sporozoa. They have a trophic stage which is distinct from the reproductive phase.

Temnodon
see "Blue-fish"

Tench
The tench (Tinca tinca) is a freshwater fish of the carp family. It is found all over Europe in standing water, especially where the bottom is muddy. The scales are small and the skin thick; there is a pair of barbles; the lateral line is complete, and the tail-fin is slightly emarginate. Tench always keep near the bottom and bury themselves in the mud on the approach of winter. They are exceedingly prolific and are sufficiently hardy to tolerate transport.

Tenebrio
Tenebrio is a genus of beetles.

Tenuirostres
Tenuirostres (slender-beaked) is a section of the Insessores order of birds containing those species with a long slender, tapering beak.

Terebratula
Terebratula is a deep-sea genus of phylum brachiopoda.

Termite
Termites (Termitidae) are a social insect of the order Isoptera. They are chiefly found in tropical climates and are very destructive to timber.

Tern
The tern is a sea bird, especially those of the genus Sterna. They resemble a gull, but are usualy smaller and with a more slender body. Terns have long, pointer wings and a forked tail giving rise to their alternative name of the sea-swallow.

Ternstroemiaceae
Ternstroemiaceae is a natural order of polypetalous dicotyledonous plants consisting of trees or shrubs with alternate simple usually coriacerous leaves without stipules. The flowers are generally white, arranged in axillary or terminal peduncles, articulated at the base.

Terrapin
The terrapin is a freshwater tortoise.

Testa rossa
see "Comisana"

Testes
The testes are the male gonads.

Tetradactyl
Tetradactyl is a term applied to any animal or bird with 4 fingers or toes.

Tetrao cupido
see "Pinnated Grouse"

Tetraonidae
see "Grouse"

Tetrapod
Tetrapod is the family of four legged vertebrates. It includes birds because wings developed from legs.

Thalamophora
The thalamophora are an order of rhizopoda. They are amoeboid forms protected by a shell. There are apertures in the shell through which the pseudopodia extend.

Thalictrum
Thalictrum is a genus of hardy herbaceous plants belonging to the order Ranunculaceae. They usually bear panicles of small flowers, with four or five petaloid sepals and no corolla.

Thallophyte
A thallophyte is a plant with a thallus body, such as seaweed or liverwort.

Thallus
A thallus is the body of a primitive plant which is not divided into leaves, stem and roots but consists of a more or less uniform tissue.

Theropithecus
see "Gelad"

Thistle
The thistle (Carduus) is a genus of plants of the order Compositae.

Thorn-apple
see "Datura"

Thrasher
The thrasher is a species of shark (Alopias vulpinus) which has a very long upper division of its tail which it uses to thrash its prey or attackers.

Thresher
The thresher or fox-shark (Alopias vulpes) is a fish of the Lamnidae family. The upper lobe of the tail is as long as the rest of the body. The thresher is widely distributed in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and is the most common shark off the coast of Britain. It reaches a length of 5 meters and is quite harmless to man but eats small fis such as pilchards, herrings and sprats.

Thrift
see "Armeria"

Thrips
Thrips are minute insects with 4 hair-fringed wings of the order Thysanoptera. Many of the species injure plants by feeding upon their juices.

Thrush
The thrush is a bird of the turdidae family.

Thuja
see "Thuya"

Thuya
Thuya or thuja is a genus of hardy evergreen trees belonging to the order Coniferae. They bear monoecious flowers, the male flowers being solitary, and the female in ovoid catkins. The cones are small, and of the same form as the catkins. The chief species are the North American arbor vitae, or white cedar.

Thylacine
The thylacine (Tasmanian wolf, Thylacinus cynocephalus) is a carnivorous marsupial resembling a dog in appearance, greyish-brown with conspicuous black markings on the hinder half of the back.

Thyme
Thyme (Thymus) is a genus of herbs of the Labiatae family. They are widely used in cooking on account of their aromatic properties.

Thymelaceae
Thymelaceae is a natural order of trees and shrubs, or occassionally herbaceous plants with usually heads or short racemes of regular flowers, followed by nuts, berries or drupes.

Thymus
see "Thyme"

Thynnus pelamys
see "Bonito"

Thysanozoon
Thysanozoon is a member of the order polycladida.

Thysanura
Thysanura is an order of apterygota.

Tibetan Terrier
The Tibetan Terrier or Bhuteer is a small breed of dog originally from Lhassa with specimens being smuggled into India via Leh and Kshmir. It varies considerably in size from the size of a maltese up to that of a poodle. It bears a strong resemblance to the Skye terrier, but its tail curls over its back. The coat is shaggy and the body compact, with a large round head. The eyes are half covered by a profuse fringe and the feet and legs are also well covered with hair.

Tick
see "acarina"

Tiger
The tiger (Felis tigris) is a large asian wild cat. It is maneless, of tawny-yellow colour with blackish transverse stripes and a white belly. The males exceed the females in size and measure about six feet in length from the nose to the root of the tail, and stand about three feet at the shoulder.

Tigress
A tigress is a female tiger.

Tikus
see "Bulau"

Tile-fish
The tile-fish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps) is a large, deep-water, yellow-spotted fish found off the coast of New England. It is apparently good to eat.

Tilia
Tilia is a genus of hardy trees belonging to the order Tiliaceae. They bear cymes of whitish or yellowish flowers, which secrete a quantity of honey, and the flowers are followed by nutlike globose fruits.

Tiliaceae
Tiliaceae is a natural order of plants including the limes.

Tillandsia
Tillandsia is a genus of tropical American herbaceous plants, mostly epiphytal in habit, and possessing considerale beauty. They bear narrow, entire leaves, and terminal spikes of flowers, with free sepals and petals.

Timothy Grass
Timothy Grass (Phleum pratense) is a coarse grass cultivated in North America and England as pasture.

Tinamou
The tinamou is a South American bird of the family Tinamidae. It resembles the grouse but is actualy related to the rhea.

Tinamous
The Tinamous are a unique group of birds. They are about the size of a fowl with a small head and slender neck.

Tinca Tinca
see "Tench"

Tit
see "Paridae"

Titmice
see "Paridae"

Toad
The toad is a tailless leaping amphibian similar to the frog, but terrestial in habits except at the breeding season.

Toads
see "toad"

Tobacco
Tobacco is a large leaved solanaceae plant of the genus Nicotiana.

Todea
Todea is a genus of ferns, mostly natives of New Zealand and Australia. They have a habit very similar to polypodies.

Todies
see "Todus"

Todus
Todus (Todies) are a genus and family of minute red and green insectivorous picarian birds found in the West Indies.

Tody
The tody is a small insectivorous West Indian bird of the genus Todus, allied to the kingfisher.

Toggenburg
The toggenburg is a light to dark brown coloured breed of domestic goat kept for its milk . They originated in Switzerland but are now also found in Britain and the USA.

Tomato
The tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) is a South American annual plant of the order Solanaceae. It produces a round red fruit which is treated like a vegetable.

Tong Sheep
The Tong is a breed of sheep originating from the Mongolian breed. It is a white, polled breed located in the high plains of northern Shaaxi Province in China. The beautiful curls of the lamb pelt look like pearls, and a coat-lining made from it provides warmth with light weight. The Tong sheep have a type of coarse wool commonly called "carpet wool". They are adapted to the unfavourable local environmantal conditions of the North and Northwest Pastoral Grasslands. They have the ability to deposit fat in the tail (fat-tail sheep).

Tonka
The tonka is a large South American tree (Dipteryx odorata) of the family leguminosae. The seeds, known as tonka beans, are black fragrant and almond-shaped and are used for scenting tobacco and perfume.

Toothache-tree
see "Prickly Ash"

Toothwort
Toothwort is a genus of plants belonging to the order Orobanchaceae. They have a bell-shaped calyx, and a two-lipped corolla. The British toothwort grows in woods on hazel roots. The stem branches beneath the surface of the soil, and is covered with scales. The flowers are purple and borne in spring.

Tope
The tope (Galeorhinus galeus) is a small european shark.

Torenia
Torenia is a genus of mostly tropical berbaceous plants belonging to the order Scrophulariaceae. They bear short, few-flowered racemes of flowers, often highly coloured.

Torsk
The torsk or tusk (Brosmius brosme) is a food fish of the cod family found in both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The body is cylindrical; there is one very long dorsal, and one long ventral fin; the scales are minute and the colouring is grey. The fish grows to a length of one meter.

Tortoise
The tortoise is a genus of reptiles of the order chelonia.

Totara
The totara is a tree found in New Zealand and Chile.

Toucan
The toucan (Rhamphastidae) are a family of picarian birds found in South and Central America forests. They possess brilliant plumage and enormously large, saw-edged bills, but unlike the hornbills, toucans do not posess a bill helmet. Toucans live in societies and are esteemed by the natives for food.

Touch-me-not
Touch-me-not (Impatiens Noli-me-tangere) is a British plant of the natural order Balsaminaceae. It derives its name from the elastic valves of its seed pods which violently eject the seeds at the slighest touch.

Toxodon
The toxodon was a large three-toed ungulate mammal as tall and heavily built as a rhinocerous, which lived in South America in late Tertiary times.

Toxoplasma gondii
Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan which causes the disease toxoplasmosis.

Trachea
The trachea is a pipe leading to the lung chamber.

Trachinus
see "Weever fish"

Trachylina
Trachylina is an order of hydrozoa. They are mainly marine forms in which the medusoid stage is represented, and the hydroid stage is reduced or absent.

Tradescantia
Tradescantia (spider-wort) is a genus of American herbaceous plants belonging to the order Commelinaceae. They usually bear simple cymes of flowers with distinct sepals, obovate petals and six stamens.

Tragopan
The tragopan is an asiatic pheasant of the genus Tragopan. The male has erectile fleshy horns on his head leading to its alternative name of the horned pheasant.

Trapa
Trapa is a genus of tropical, aquatic herbaceous plants (the Water Caltrops) of the order Onagrariaceae. They bear solitary flowers, followed by one celled bony beaked fruits. The submerged leaves are pinnatipartiate, with filiform segments, the floating leaves being rhomboidal. Their nuts are often consumed as food (as in the case of Trapa Natans, the water chestnut or Jesuits' Nut).

Tree
A tree is a perennial plant with a self supporting woody main stem.

Tree-Moss
see "Usnea"

Trees
see "Tree"

Trefoil
see "Clover"

Trematoda
Trematoda is a class of phylum platyhelminthes. They are the fluke worms. Parasitic flat worms with a leaf-like body. The mesenchyme secretes a tough cuticle and cilia are lacking in the adults. Hooks and/or suckers are often present.

Trematode
A trematode is any member of the Trematoda.

Triceratops
The triceratops was a dinosaur with three horns on its head.

Trichechidae
see "Walrus"

Tricladida
Tricladida is an order of turbellaria with an intestine having three main branches. The sense organs are frequently well developed.

Trifolium
see "Clover"

Trigger-fish
see "File-fish"

Triticum
Triticum is a genus of hardy grasses, mostly natives of Southern Europe and Western Asia. They bear flat leaves and terminal cylindrical spikes of from two to five flowered spikelets.

Tritonia
Tritonia is a genus of South African bulbous plants belonging to the order Iridaceae. They have linear leaves, and more or less tubular or campanulate flowers.

Trmpet-flower
see "Bignonia"

Tropaeolum
Tropaeolum is a genus of herbaceous plants belonging to the order Geraniaceae. They usually twine or trail, and for the most part bear lightly-coloured red, orange, or yellow irregular flowers, followed by wrinkled, hard, iridescent, one-seeded fruits.

Trout
The trout is a fish native to the northern hemisphere.

Truffle
Truffles are subterranean fungii belonging to the division of the Ascomycetes. They look similar to potatoes, but their structure is entirely different. When old they become full of brown spores, much like puff balls, but when young they are fleshy in texture. Several species are edible and are highly valued as flavouring agents. They are often found under oak trees.

Trumpet-fish
The trumpet-fish (Centriscus scolopax) is a small marine fish, about twelve centimeters long, red or green above and silvery below, with an elongated and tubular mouth. It is sometimes found on the southern coasts of Britain, and is eaten in the mediterranean area.

Trumpeter
The Trumpeters are a family of South American birds related to the seriema, the cranes and the rails. They are so named from their loud trumpet-like cry. The body is about the size of a fowl's, but the legs are long and crane-like, and the beak short. They nest on the ground and feed on insects, seeds and fruits.

Trypanosome
Trypanosome is a parasite of the genus Trypanosoma. It is a flagellate protozoa which infects the blood of man and other animals often causing disease, including sleeping-sickness.

Tsetse
The tsetse (Glossina) is a fly found in Africa that carries the Trypanosome parasite which causes sleeping sickness.

Tsetse-fly
see "Tsetse"

Tsuga
Tsuga is a genus of hardy evergreen trees of the order Coniferae, including the hemlock spruce. The leaves are narrow, and the flowers monoecious. The cones are subglobose in form.

Tuatara
The tuatara is a survivor of the group of prehistoric reptiles to which the dinosaurs belonged. It is found only in a few islands of New Zealand. It lays 10-14 eggs which it buries in the ground. A fully grown tuatara is about 24 inches long. The tuatara is carnivorous.

Tuatera
The tuatera is a large lizard-like reptile found only in New Zealand, and forming the distinct order Rhynchocephalia, in which the skull and skeleton are more like those of the crocodile than a lizard.

Tubergen Squill
see "Scilla"

Tubifex
The tubifex are oligochaeta.

Tubularia
Tubularia is a member of the order of gymnoblastea.

Tulip
The tulip is a genus of flowering plants of the order Liliaceae. One species, the wild tulip (Tulipa sylvestris) is native to Britain. It is a bulbous plant, attaining a height of about 30cm, with very narrow leaves and a solitary large fragrant flower.

Tulip Tree
The Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is a tree of the order Magnoliaceae, introduced into Britain from North America towards the close of the 17th century. It may grow to a height of nearly 30 meters and in summer develops beautiful large, green, orange or lemon-coloured flowers resembling tulips.

Tuna
The tuna is a fish of the mackerel family.

Tunny
The tunny is a fish of the mackerel family, also called tuna it can reach 14ft in length.

Tupelo
The tupelo are large American trees of the genus Nyssa found growing in swamps and on river banks in the sourthern USA.

Turaco
The turaco is a long-tailed crested African bird of the genus Tauraco.

Turbellaria
Turbellaria is a class of free-living flatworms. They live in water and damp conditions. The epidermis is glandular, ciliated and has a thin cuticle.

Turbot
The turbot is a flat fish found in the mediterranean and north sea.

Turdus merula
see "Blackbird"

Turdus pilaris
see "Fieldfare"

Turkey Buzzard
The Turkey Buzzard is a small, black species of American vulture.

Turmeric
Turmeric (Curcuma) is a perennial plant of the ginger family. The roots are hard and resinous and when ground yield a yellow powder with a marked aromatic odour which forms the base of curry powder and has been used as a dye, though it is not fast in light.

Turnip
The turnip (Brassica rapa) is a biennial cruciferous plant of the same genus as cabbage with a fleshy globular or spheroidal root, toothed leaves, and yellow flowers. The root of the turnip is used as a vegetable and also fed to cattle and sheep.

Turnstone
The turnstone is a bird of the plover family, found nearly all over the world. It is about the size of a snipe, but has shorter legs and bill, and takes its name from the habit of turning over stones on the sea shore in search of small crustaceans which it eats.

Turtle
The turtle is an aquatic chelonia.

Turtle-dove
The turtle-dove (Turtur) is a genus of pigeons, which includes a number of Old World species. In habits, the turtle-doves generally resemble the true pigeons of the genus Columba; but their colouration is browner and they are considerably smaller.

Turtur
see "Turtle-dove"

Tusk
see "Torsk"

Tussac Grass
Tussac Grass or tussock grass (Festuca fllabellata or Dactylis coespitosa) is a large growing hardy grass native to the Falkland Islands, from where it was introduced to Scotland and other parts of Britain as a cattle food. It grows to a height of two meters with long tapering leaves.

Tussilago
Tussilago is a genus of British plants belonging to the order Compositae.

Tussock Grass
see "Tussac Grass"

Tussock Moth
The Tussock Moth (Dasychira pudibunda) is an insect whose larva is sometimes destructive to hops. The caterpillar is green, with transverse black markings and has tufts, or tussocks of hair on most of the segments. The moth is of a grayish colour, and is about two centimeters long.

Two-Leaved Squill
see "Scilla"

Typha
Typha are a genus of marsh plants belonging to the order Typhaceae. They bear spadixes of male and of female flowers, which closely resemble one another in appearance.

Typhaceae
Typhaceae is an order of plants with monoecious arrangement of small flowers, borne in spadixes. they are frequenters of watersides and marshy ground in various parts of the temperate and tropical regions of the world. The female flowers are succeeded by subdrupaceous or membraneous fruits.

Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus rex was a carnivorous dinosaur from the cretaceous period. It was the largest of all the carnivorous dinosaurs. It was so big it could have eaten a human in one or two bites.

Tyrant-birds
Tyrant-birds (Tyrannida) are a family of New World passerine birds, which extend from the Arctic regions to Tierra del Fuego, but are most abundant in South America. The birds are insectivorous, and in appearance and habits somewhat resemble the shrikes.

Uakari
The uakari is a monkey found in South America.

Uca
see "Fiddler Crab"

Ulex
Ulex is a genus of hardy spring shrubs belonging to the order Leguminosae. They bear yellow flowers either solitary or showily racemose.

Umbel
An umbel is an infloresence in which all the flowers are borne upon pedicels of equal length arising from a common centre.

Umbelliferae
The umbelliferae is a natural order of mostly herbaceous hardy plants which generally have flowers in regular compound umbells od small flowers with five petals and fistular furrowal stems. The fruit is composed of two dry, ridged carpels adherent to a central stalk.

Umbrette
The umbrette (Scopus umbretta) or hammer-head is a bird found in Madagscar and parts of Africa. The general colour is puplish brown, and the head bears a large erectile crest.

Upas
The upas (Antiaris toxicaria) is a tree of the order Urticaceae, allied to the fig, hop and nettle, found in Java and exuding a milky white juice called antiarin.

Urd
Urd (Gram, Black gram, Vigna mungo) is a plant of the order Leguminosae cultivated in trpoical Asia for its edible seeds and as forage.

Urial
The Urial or Oorial (Ovis Vignei) is a wild sheep of Asia. It occurs from the Punjab through Afghanistan to eastern Iraq. The rams have a characteristic ruff of long hair on the throat and the horns curve round in a circle, while the horns of the ewe are very short and nearly straight.

Urochordata
Urochordata is a class of sub-phylum acrania. They are the sea squirts. They are ciliary-feeding marine animals.

Urodela
The urodela are a subclass of amphibia. They are the newts and salamanders. The tail persists throughout life. The fore and hind limbs are poorly developed.

Uromastix
The Uromastix are a genus of lizards, related to the iguana, whose members are found in Asia and Africa. The tail is covered with spiny scales.

Urticaceae
Urticaceaeis a natural order of exogenous trees, herbs and shrubs. This is the nettle family, with stinging hairs.

Urus
The urus (Bos taurus) was the ancient wild ox of Europe, the ancestor of the existing domesticated forms.

Usnea
Usnea is a genus of gymnocarpous parmeliaceous lichens, with subterminal pelate apothecia, usually of a grey colour, found hanging on trees, and popularly known as tree-mosses or beard-mosses.

Utricularia
Utricularia is a genus of herbaceous plants belonging to the order Lenticulariaceae. They bear flowers with two equal sepals and a spurred cololla.

Utricularia vulgaris
see "Bladderwort"

Vaccinium
Vaccinium is a genus of mostly hardy shrubs belonging to the order Vacciniaceae. They bear globose berries which are often edible and of comercial value. Species include the bilberry and cranberry.

Vaccinium
Vaccinium is a genus of mostly hardy shrubs belonging to the order Vaciniaceae. They bear globose beries, often edible and of economic value.

Vaccinium myrtillus
see "Bilberry"

Vaciniaceae
Vaciniaceae is a natural order of trees and shrubs bearing flowers with gamopetalous, globose, or campanulate corollas, and followed by baccate fruits.

Valerian
Valerian is the Valeriana genus of plants of the order Valerianaceae having small fragrant flowers of white, purple or pink. The root was formerly used in medicine as a nerve sedative and antispasmodic.

Valeriana
see "Valerian"

Valerianaceae
Valerianaceae is the valerian family of plants. They are herbaceous plants and shrubs having simple or compound, opposite leaves, clusters of small flowers, and dry, indehiscent fruit.

Vallisneria
Vallisneria is a genus of half-hardy, aquatic, submerged plants belonging to the order Hydrocharidaceae. There is only one species, eel grass, which is grown in aquariums.

Vallota
Vallota is a genus of South African bulbous plants belonging to the order Amaryllidaceae.

Vampire Bat
The Vampire Bat (Phyllostomatidae) is a large family of about 150 species of bat distinguished by a well developed ''leaf'' above the nose, or by skin folds or warts beneath the chin. The middle finger of the wing has three joints. Vampire Bats are confined to the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world where they live in forest areas feeding on fruit and insects, although two species, Desmodus and Diphylla are blood sucking.

Vanessa
Vanessa is a genus of butterflies belonging to the family Nymphalidae, and including some handsome and conspicuous species. The club of the antennae is short and bold, and the eyes are extremely hairy.

Vanilla
Vanilla is a genus of climbing tropical orchids, which bear thick leaves, and spikes or racemes of large flowers, not usually of much beauty.

Vegetable oyster
see "Salsify"

Velella
Velella is a member of the order of siphonophora.

Vellozia
Vellozia is a genus of tropical woody-stem plants of the order Amaryllidaceae. They are mostly natives of South Africa and Brazil. The leaves grow in clusters at the tips of the branches and bear showy campanulate single flowers.

Vendace
The vendace (Coregonus vandesius) is a fresh-water member of the salmon family, which is nearly related to the pollan, but is confined to Lochmaben in Scotland. It is 15 cm long, brownish in colour, with a red heart-shaped mark between the eyes and has a slightly protruding lower jaw.

Ventricle
A ventricle is a chamber of the heart which despatches blood.

Venus Fly-trap
The Venus Fly-trap is a plant of the genus Dionoea. It is native to the sandy savannas of Carolina and Florida. The leaves have a dilated petiole and a slightly stalked 2-lobed lamina, with three short stiff bristles on each lobe. The bristles are remarkably irritable and when touched by a fly or other insect the lobes of the leaf suddenly close on the insect. The insect is then digested.

Veratrum
Veratrum is a genus of hardy herbaceous plants of the order Liliaceae. They bear terminal panicles of flowers, usually broad leaves and a thick poisonous rhizome.

Verbena
Verbena is a genus of plants, mostly American, several species of which possess handsome and sweet-scented flowers.

Verbenaceae
Verbenaceae is a natural order of herbs, shrubs or trees widely distributed over the warmer parts of the world.

Vernonia
Vernonia is a genus of mostly tropical plants belonging to the order Compositae. They bear usually puple flower-heads, the flowers being all equal and five-cleft.

Vertebrate
see "sub-phylum craniata"

Vertebrates
see "vertebrate"

Vervain
Vervain (Verbena officinalis) is a native British plant of the genus Verbena.

Vesicaria
Vesicaria is a genus of herbaceous plants belonging to the order Cruciferae. They bear mostly large flowers, yellow or purple in colour.

Vesper Sparrow
The Vesper sparrow (bay-winged bunting, Pooecetes gramineus) is a bird of the family Fringillidae.

Vetch
see "Tare"

Viburnum
Viburnum is a genus of hardy shrubs belonging to the order Caprifoliaceae. They bear corymbs or panicles of white or pink flowers.

Vicia
Vicia is a genus of leguminous plants extensively cultivated as food for cattle and horses.

Victoria
Victoria is a genus of tropical American aquatic plants belonging to the order Nymphaeaceae. There is one species, the beautiful Queen Victoria water lily, water platter or royal water lilly (Victoria regia). It is a remarkable plant bearing oval or obicular leaves often 160 cm in diameter. The flowers are very large, the sepals being brownish in colour, whilst the outer petals are white and spreading, and the inner petals are rose-coloured and filamentous. The flowers are followed by large, green, prickly fleshy berries, containing numerous dark-coloured seeds.

Vicuna
The vicuna is a species of wild llama, a ruminant mammal of the camel family found in the Andes. Unlike the other wild species, the huanaco, the face is fawn-coloured.

Vietnamese Potbelly Pig
The Vietnamese Potbelly pig is a dwarf pig breed which was developed in the 1960's from the I breed of Vietnam. They were originally brought into Sweden and Canada and have since moved into a number of countries where they are often kept as pets.

Vigna Mungo
see "Urd"

Villarsia
Villarsia are a genus of Australian and South African herbaceous marsh plants, belonging to the order Gentianaceae. They bear white or yellow flowers arranged in cymes.

Vinca
Vinca is a genus of herbaceous and shrubby plants belonging to the order Apocynaceae. They generally bear large, salver-shaped, axillary, solitary flowers, often of much beauty.

Vine
The vine (Vitis vinifera) is a shrub of the order ampelidae. This is the plant from which grapes are obtained.

Viola
Viola is a genus of perennial herbaceous plants of ther order Viilaceae. Most of the species are dwarf plants.

Violaceae
Violaceae is a natural order of herbs and shrubs, widely distributed over the temperate and tropical regions.

Violet
Violet is the popular name of Viola odorata. There are white, blue and puple varieties, and of these there are double sub-varieties.

Viper
The viper is a family of venomous snakes. They are characterized by venom-conducting fangs which hinge forward when the snake bites.

Viper's Bugloss
Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare) is a native British plant of the order Boraginaceae. It is found growing on walls, in gravel pits and similar places. It is a bristly plant growing to one meter in height; has narrow prickly leaves, and bears numerous short curved spikes of blue flowers in summer.

Virginia creeper
The virginia creeper (Vitis quinquefolia) is a climbing plant of the order Vitaceae, akin to the vine, with large lobbed leaves which acquire a beautiful red colour in the autumn, tendrils by which it climbs and which give off short branches ending in adhesive suckers for clinging to walls or trees, and clusters of green flowers like those of the vine. It is native to North America and was introduced into Britain.

Virginia Deer
The Virginia Deer (Cariacus virginianus) is a North American species of deer about the size of a fallow-deer, but with large antlers curving forwards over the face. The coat is brown in winter, and paler with white spots in summer. The underside of the tail is white from whence it derives its American name the white-tailed deer.

Virginia Quail
The Virginia Quail or Bob-white (Ortyx virginianus) is a bird of the subfamily Odontophorinae. It is found in the eastern United States and receives its name from the note of the male. It is partridge-like in its habits.

Virginian Stock
Virginian Stock (Malcomia maritima) is a hardy annual European plant of the order Cruciferae. It bears racemes of white, lilac or rose-coloured flowers, with a sweet fragrance.

Viscacha
The Viscacha or Pampas Hare (Lagostomus trichodactylus) is a South American rodent of the family Chinchillidae. It is a gregarious burrow-dweller with five toes on the front feet and three on the hind.

Visceral skeleton
The visceral skeleton is the bones comprising the jaws and their allied structures.

Viscum
Viscum is a genus of parasitic shrubs belonging to the order Loranthacea. They grow on the branches of trees and live at their expense. They bear fascicles of flowers, dioecious or monoecious.

Visnea
Visnea is a genus of evergreen trees of the order Ternstromiaceae. The only species is a native of the Canary Islands. It bears small flowers, which are succeeded by indehiscent berries.

Vitex
Vitex is a genus of trees and shrubs of the order Verbenaceae. They bear cymes of white, blue or yellow flowers, the corollas being more or less bilabiate.

Vitis
Vitis is a genus of mostly climbing shrubs belonging to the order Ampelidaceae. They bear small flowers followed by ovoid or globose berries.

Vitis vinifera
see "Vine"

Vitrina
Vitrina is a genus of pulmonate gastropods, in which the shell is thin, depressed and small, so that it is incapable of lodging the whole of the animal's body.

Viverridae
see "Civet"

Vole
The vole (Arvicola) is a large genus of rodents of the cricetidae family. They may be distinguished from rats and mice by the fact that the tail is either short, or only moderately long, the body is stouter, the muzzle more obtuse, the limbs shorter, the eyes and ears smaller, and by the structure of the teeth.

Volvox
Volvox is a genus of flagellate Protozoa, closely related to the simplest plants. They form minute globular colonies composed of sometimes as many as 22,000 individuals in fresh water.

Vorticella
Vorticella is a member of the order of peritricha.

Vulture
The vulture is a carrion eating bird.

Wagtail
see "Motacilla"

Wake-robin
see "Green-dragon"

Walking-stick Insect
see "Stick Insect"

Wallaby
Wallaby is the name of several small members of the kangaroo family.

Wallflower
The wallflower (Cheiranthus) is a genus of plants of the order Cruciferae. The common wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri) is yellow when wild.

Walnut
The walnut (Juglans regia) is a tree of the order Juglandaceae. It was introduced into Britain from Asia in the 15th century. It is a spreading tree and grows to a height of around 15 meters with a short bole which may grow to 6 meters in circumferance and is covered with rugged grey bark. It bears fruit similar to a plum, the stone of which is eaten and the timber is light but tough and makes attractive furniture.

Walrus
The walrus or morse (Trichechus rosmarus) is a large pinniped marine carnivore similar to the seal but constituting a special family, the Trichechidae. It is confined to the Arctic regions and occurs in two varieties, a Pacific and an Atlantic form. It is a clumsy animal reaching a length of 3.5 meters and a weight of 1400 kg. As in the eared seals, the hind limbs are capable of being turned forwards to support the weight of the body, and the first and fifth toes are larger than the three median ones. The toes of the hind feet have, further, large lobes projecting beyond the ends of the bones. External ears are totally absent, and the canines of the upper jaw are reatly enlarged to form conspicuous projecting tusks. The muzzle is divided into two parts by a groove between the nostrils, and the upper lip is furnished at each side with a number of conspicuous bristles. The tail is small, the fore limbs nearly as large s the hind, and there are five small claws on both fore and hind feet. Walruses are usually found in the vicinity of land or floating ice. They are markedly social and except during the breeding season or when attacked are gentle and inoffensive.

Wapatoo
see "Arrowhead"

Wapiti
The wapiti (Cervus canadensis) is a North American deer closely allied to the red deer, but much larger and of different colour, and often mistaken for the Elk. The body is fawn coloured with the head and limbs brown. The wapiti stands 1.5 meters at the shoulder. The antlers are greatly developed, are smooth and have the surroyal tines, usually three or more in number in the adult, flattened and expanded, while the beam is markedly curved backwards.

Waratah
Waratah is a shrub of the order Proteaceae, characterised by brilliant crimson tubular flowers borne in dense globular clusters at the end of sprays of long oval, oak-like leaves.

Warbler
The warbler (Sylviidae) is a family of thrush-like perching song birds distinguished from typical thrushes by their smaller size, delicate bills and toes and duller plumage. They feed on insects and are very migratory.

Wart hog
The wart hog (Phacochoerus) is a genus belonging to the pig family found in Africa. Wart hogs are characterised by their very large heads, which bear large wart-like processes at the sides. The tusks are greatly developed, those of the upper jaw being considerably larger than those of the lower.

Wasp
The wasp is a stinging insect of the order hymenoptera.

Water Chestnut
see "Trapa"

Water Deer
The water deer is a small, hornless, ruminant, armed with long tusks and coloured dark brown with white stripes. It is found in west Africa.

Water Lily
Water Lily is a general name for the aquatic plants of the order Nymphaeaceae, of which there are about 60 species distributed through temperate and tropical countries. They are all perennial, and most have large floating leaves and flowers.

Water platter
see "Victoria"

Water Violet
The water violet (Hottonia palustris) is a British pond plant of the order Primulaceae. It bears much divided, subaqueous leaves, and whorls of pink and yellow salver-shaped flowers on a leafless stalk, which rises above the surface of the water.

Water-Boatman
The water-boatman is an insect of the order Hemiptera found in fresh water ponds, and having oar-like legs for swimming.

Water-Buck
The water-buck is a large antelope about the size of a donkey, found usually in swampy places in east and south Africa. It is mainly brown in colour and has long, strongly ribbed horns in the male only.

Water-dropwort
Water-dropwort (OEnanthe) are a genus of plants of the order Umbelliferae. They bear few-rayed flowers, in compound umbels, followed by globular umbels of egg-shaped fruits.

Water-hemlock
Water-hemlock (Oenanthe crocata) is a British waterside plant growing to a height of one meter with clustered tuberous roots, glossy thrice-pinnate leaves, and wedge-shaped leaflets. It belongs to the order Umbelliferae, and bears white flowers in late summer. The whole plant is poisonous.

Water-hog
see "Capybara"

Water-horse
see "Capybara"

Water-pepper
Water-pepper is a plant of the Polygonaceae family. It grows to between 20 and 70 cm tall and has sparingly branched ascending stems. The leaves are lanceolate and irritate the skin when touched.

Water-Plantain
Water-Plantain (Alisma) is a name for several species of the order Alismaceae, aquatic and sometimes floating, with long-stalked, often large leaves.

Water-rat
The water-rat is the largest of the British voles, about the size of a common rat. It lives in burrows in the banks of streams and feeds on green food and roots.

Water-scorpion
The water-scorpion is an insect of the order Hemiptera, which lives in fresh-water ponds and preys upon other insects.

Waterbuck
The waterbuck is an antelope found in Africa. It has a characteristic white ring marKing in its rump.

Watercress
Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a perennial aquatic plant of the order Cruciferae, related to the wallflower and widely cultivated as a salad. It is abundant in small streams, and roots in the mud at the bottom. From the creeping stems arise alternate leaves divided into a varying number of pairs of leaflets. The flowers are small and white and clustered together.

Watsonia
Watsonia is a genus of South African bulbous plants of the order Iridaceae. They bear long, somewhat ridgid leaves, and sessile flowers, one to the spathe.

Wattle-bird
The wattle-bird (Anthochoera carunculata) is one of the honey-eaters. It is confined to Australia, but another species is Tasmanian. The distinguishing feature is the elongation of the wattles, hence the name.

Wax palm
The wax palm (Ceroxylon andicola) is a tree of the order Palmae, found in Colombia, which attains a height of around 15 meters. It is crowned with large spreading leaves which may be 3 meters in length and resemble gigantic feathers. The trunk is lined with a resinous wax.

Wax-plant
The wax-plant or honeywort (Cerinthe major) are plants of the genus Cerinthe, a subdivision of the order Boraginaceae. The popular name is derived from an old idea that bees visited the flowers for wax.

Wax-tree
The wax-tree or gamboge or gutta-gum tree (Vismia guianensis) is a little tree or shrub native to tropical America. It bears corymbs of yellowish flowers in late summer.

Waxbill
The waxbill is a small seed eating bird found in Africa.

Waxwing
The waxwing (Ampelis garrulus) is a bird of the family Ampelidae which breeds within the Arctic cirle, but is a visitor to Britain. It is about twenty centimeters long and has an erectile crest, long pointed wings, and a short tail. The general colour of the plummage is greyish brown, but the head is marked with black and chestnut and the wings and tail are blackish, with yellow and white markings. About eight of the secondary feathers of the wing and in some cases some of the tail feathers have red wax-like tips at the shafts, hence the common name. Waxwings feed on insects and berries and have a trilling song.

Weasel
The weasel (Mustela vulgaris) is a carnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae. It feeds mainly on voles, rats and mice. The colour is a deep brown above and white below, and the body is snake-like allowing the animal to worm its way through dense undergrowth and into the holes of its prey.

Weever fish
The Weever fish (Trachinus) is a genus of small European marine fish. They have highly poisonous dorsal spines.

Weld
see "Woold"

Wellingtonia
Wellingtonia was a former name for the giant trees of California. It was superseeded in the late 19th century by the term Sequoia.

Welsh Onion
The welsh onion, salad onion or spring onion (Allium pistulosum) is a Siberian perennial plant very hardy in the British climate. Its roots instead of bulbing as in the common onion, are long and tapering and its stems and leaves are hollow. It is cultivated for its young growths used to flavour salads in the spring.

Welsh Poppy
The Welsh Poppy (Mecanopsis cambrica) is a perennial plant of the family Papaveraceae. It is native to western Europe and grows to 60 cm in height with pale green leaves and 4-petalled flowers.

Welsh Terrier
The Welsh terrier is a breed of dog evolved from the rough breed found in wales and used for rabbiting and getting foxes out of rocks. It is similar in appearance tothe Irish terrier, except for its colour.

Welwitschia
Welwitschia is a genus of plants belonging to the order Gnetaceae.

Welwitschia mirabilis
Welwitschia mirabilis is a South African plant with a hard, brown, obconical trunk lying just along the ground, and giving rise to two flat, leathery linear leaves often over two meters in length. It bears cymes of small scarlet cones, within the scales of which the solitary flowers are contained.

Wensleydale
see "Yorkshire Leicester"

Wentletrap
The wentletraps (Scalaria) are a genus of marine gasteropod molluscs (shell fish) related to Turritella. The shell is very attractive, being usually of a pure lustrous white colour and a spiral in shape with many whorls.

West African
see "Africana"

West African Dwarf
The West African Dwarf (Cameroons Dwarf, Djallonke, Forest-type, Fouta Djallon, Futa Jallon, Guinean, Kirdi, Kirdimi, Lakka, Nigerian Dwarf, Pagan, Savannah-type, Southern, West African Maned) is the predominant breed of sheep in the humid tropics from southern west Africa through central Africa. Their colour is generally black piebald on white. Tan piebald on white, predominately coloured (tan or black) and the blackbelly pattern are also found. Adult males weight approximately 37 kg. They have a well-developed throat ruff and are horned. Ewes have mature weights of 25 kg. The females are usually polled. They can be bred at the age of 7 to 8 months. They tend to have a short lambing interval.

West African Maned
see "West African Dwarf"

Western grebe
The Western grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) is a large, long-necked grebe with a long greenish-yellow bill, red eyes, black crown, face, and nape. The back and wings are dark blackish-brown and the chin, throat, and belly are white. The feet set far back on body.

Whale
A whale is a large marine mammal of the order cetacea.

Wheat
Wheat (triticum vulgare) is a species of hard grass, the seeds of which are ground to make flour.

Wheatear
The wheatear (Saxicola oenanthe) is a genus of chat birds. The male is greyish blue above, with a black streak at the side of the head, the wings are nearly black, the rump white, the tail black and white, the under surface white with a tinge of buff. The food consists of insects and the bird is commonly found on moorlands near the sea. The nest is often built in rabbit holes or in the crevice of a stone wall.

Whelk
Whelk is a name applied to a number of marine carnivorous gastropoda, though it should be restricted to the species of Buccinum and Fusus. The common whelk of British waters is Buccinum undatum, called 'buckie' in Scotland, which burrows in mud and sand from low water to considerable depths. It is both used as bait and sent to the London market for food. The shell has few whorls, is spirally grooved and striated, and has the surface marked with oblique transverse undulations. Allied to Buccinum is the genus Fusus, including the forms called spindle-shells, red whelks, or roaring buckies, which have markedly fusiform shells. The dog-whelk is the common Purpura lapillus, abundant everywhere between tide-marks; and the name is also applied to species of Nassa, of which Nassa reticulata occurs between tide-marks in abundance.

Whimbrel
The whimbrel is a bird of the plover group, closely related to and resembling the curlew, but considerably smaller and breeding in Great Britain in the Orkneys and Shetland.

Whin
see "Gorse"

Whinchat
The whinchat (Pratincola rubetra) is a bird nearly allied to the stonechat, which it generally resembles in colour. It is a summer visitor to Britain, wintering in Africa, and is found chiefly on warm sunny heaths where there is undergrowth, but also in grassy meadows whence its other name of grasschat.

Whip snake
The whip snake is an oriental arboreal snake so called because of its long, thin body.

Whip-scorpion
The whip-scorpion is a group of arachnida of the order Pedipalpi, resembling the spider in having a narrow wait between the fore-part and the abdomen, but differing in having no silk glands. The second pair of limbs are modified as powerful grasping organs armed with spines for impaling their prey and the first pair of legs are turned into antenna-like feelers, resembling long whips in some kinds.

Whippet
The whippet is a breed of dog produced by crossing a hybrid of a fox-terrier and a greyhound with an Italian greyhound. Whippets are used for coursing rabbits, especially in the north of England.

Whistling Snipe
see "Greenshank"

White thorn
The White thorn is the white variety of the Hawthorn tree.

White-Russian Red
see "Belarus Red"

White-tailed deer
see "Virginia Deer"

Whitebait
Whitebait is the name given to the fry of sprats or herrings.

Whiteface
see "Hereford"

Whiting
Whiting (Gadus merlangus) is a fish of the same genus as the cod and the haddock, from which it may be distinguished by the absence of a barbel on the chin, the more slender form, and the presence of a dark spot at the root of the pectoral fin. It occassionally reaches a length of 53 cm. It is voracious and predaceous, living mostly on other fish. Females are twice as numerous as the males.

Whortleberry
Whortleberry (Vaccinium) is the name of several species of shrubs of the order Vacciniacea, such as the cranberry, cowberry and bilberry but often restricted to the bilberry.

Widgeon
see "Wigeon"

Widow Bird
The widow bird is several species of African weaver birds. They trick other birds into rearing their young.

Wigeon
The wigeon or widgeon (Mareca penelope) is a British duck wjich breeds in Scotland and winters in England. The male is finely pencilled with black above and white below, with a brown and buff head and dark grey quills. It has a whistling cry, hence the name of 'whew' or 'whewer duck', and feeds largely on the sea-grass Zostera. It is a particularly pleasant duck for eating.

Wild Tansy
see "Goose-grass"

Wildebeeste
see "Gnu"

Willow
Willow is an amentaceae of the family salicaceae. Its timber is used to make cricket bats.

Wiltshire Horn
The Wiltshire Horn is an ancient British breed of sheep from the Chalk Downs region of England. Reaching large numbers during the 17th and 18th centuries, they became almost extinct by the beginning of the 20th. Wiltshire Horn Sheep were exported to Australia in the 1950's and again in the 1970's. Both rams and ewes are horned. Ewes have a fairly short backward curving horn. Rams horns make a spiral loop each year till they're fully mature, getting thicker and more impressive each year. Occasionally these horns grow too snugly to the rather massive adult jaw and must be cut off. Both sexes are white, with occasional dime-sized black spots in the undercoat. They grow a heavy coat of coarse hair for the winter, shedding and rubbing it off as warm weather arrives leaving a short coat of straight hair for summer. The mature ram wears a most handsome "cape" on his chest. Spring shedding starts at the head, going down the back and then the sides.

Winter Berry
Winter Berry or black alder (Ilex verticillata) is a North American shrub with pointed oval leaves, downy on the underside of the veins.

Winter cherry
Winter cherry (Physalis alkekengi) is a perennial herbaceous planmt of the order Solanacea, a native to China and the Caucasus, with a creeping root, wedge-shaped oval leaves borne on long stalks, and an orange-coloured berry borne in the enlarged calyx which assumes the same hue after the white petals have been shed.

Wireworm
Wireworm is the larva of the clickbeetle. It damages crops by feeding on the roots of all kinds of cereal crops.

Wistaria
Wistaria is a genus of plants of the order Leguminosae. They are climbing shrubs with large downy leaves divided into five or six pairs of oval leaflets, and long clusters of violet-blue flowers.

Witch-hazel
see "Hamamelidaceae"

Withy
Withy (Salix fragilis) also called crack willow is a large tree of the order Salicaceae which attains a height of over 25 meters, sometimes in the space of 20 years.

Woad
Woad (Isatis tinctoria) is a biennial herbaceous plant of the order Cruciferae, native to Europe and north Asia but not to Britain. The stem is erect and smooth attaining a height of 1 meter and bears stalkless arrow-shaped leaves and elongated clusters of small yellow flowers.

Wolf
The wolf is the largest species of wild dog and the original stock from which all domestic dogs were derived.

Wolf-fish
see "Cat-fish"

Wolverene
see "Glutton"

Wolverine
see "Glutton"

Wombat
The wombat (Phascolomys) is a genus of nocturnal, herbivorous marsupials with three species all confined to Australia and Tasmania. They have massive, clumsy bodies and short thick legs. the head is broad and flat and the tail a mere stump. Each foot has five toes and with the exception of the first digit of the hind feet all the toes are furnished with powerful claws by which the animals burrow.

Wood-ibis
Wood-ibis is an American bird of the Tantalus genus. It lives in swamps where it feeds on snakes, young alligators, frogs and other reptiles.

Woodbine
see "Honeysuckle"

Woodcock
The woodcock (Scolopax rusticula) is a British game bird belonging to the sub-family Scolopacinae, and closely related to the snipe. The colouring is a combination of brown, grey and buff with black markings and there are two transverse buff stripes at the back of the head. The birds frequent woods, especially marshy woods and feed upon worms, insects and molluscs. During the breeding season the males have a habit of following certain tracks in the woods - known as 'cock roads' - and while travelling they utter whistling notes. The nest is a depression lined with dry leaves in which four eggs are laid. The young are often carried about by the parents between their thighs.

Woodlice
The woodlice are malacostraca.

Woodpecker
Woodpecker is a general name for the members of the large family Picidae, which is usually regarded as including two sub-families - the woodpeckers proper and the soft-tailed wrynecks. The woodpeckers are climbing birds, the feet having two anterior and two posterior toes. The head is large and the neck very muscular and the tongue exceedingly long and worm-like with a barbed horny tip. It can be shot out to a great distance, and is sticky so that the insects upon which the birds feed stick to it. All woodpeckers are shy solitary birds inhabiting woods. When in search of food they climb trees in a spiral fashion, clinging closely with the claws assisted by the tail. At the breeding season the woodpecker excavates a hole in the stem of a tree atfirst horizontal and then downward to the depth of thirty centimeters or more. At the bottom of the excavation the pure white eggs are laid.

Woold
Woold or Weld or Dyer's Weed (Reseda luteola) is a native British plant, bearing yellowish-green flowers and having a stem of between 80 and 100 cm high. It was formerly used for dyeing.

Wormwood
Wormwood is a European woody herb (Artemisia absinthium). It yields a dark-green oil which was once used as a tonic against intestinal worms and as a protection against moths and fleas, and is now used as a flavouring in vermouth and absinthe.

Woundwort
see "Stachys"

Wrasses
The Wrasses (Labridae) are a family of bony fishes including a large number of littoral forms, most abundant in the tropics and generally possessing curiously thick lips. They feed on molluscs and crustaceans, and have strong teeth adapted for crushing the hard shells of these animals. The body is covered with cycloid scales, and is often brilliantly coloured, and there is a single long dorsal fin, whose spinous portion is greatly developed.

Wren
The wren is a small brown bird with a cocked tail of the order Passeriformes, family Troglodytidae. The wren feeds mainly on insects and spiders and grows to about 9 cm long with a 13 cm wing span. It has a life span of about 6 years.

Wrightia
Wrightia is a genus of tropical shrubs and trees belonging to the order Apocynaceae. They usually have slender branches, and bear cymes of yellow, red, or white flowers, with salver-shaped corollas.

Wryneck
The Wryneck (Iynx) is a genus of birds related to the woodpeckers, but differing from them in the soft tail which has no spiny shafts, and the absence of bristles around the nostrils which are partially covered by a membrane. The plummage is curiously mottled with black, brown, grey and white, much as in the nightjar. Wrynecks feed upon insects which they find chiefly on the ground. They select a decayed branch or post, in whose cavity the eggs are placed.

Xanthorrhoea
see "Grass-tree"

Xanthoxylum
see "Prickly Ash"

Xiphosura
Xiphosura are the king-crabs order of arachnida. They are aquatic animals with gill-books.

Xylem
Xylem is a woody tissue found in vascular plants. Its purpose is to conduct water and dissolved minerals from the root to the rest of the plant.

Xylocopa violacea
see "Carpenter Bee"

Yacare
see "Cayman"

Yak
The yak (Bos grunniens) is a wild ox found in Tibet and surrounding areas of central Asia. It is notable for the heavy fringe of long hair which occurs at the sides of the body.

Yam
The yam is a tropical plant, the tuba of which is eaten as a vegetable.

Yamud
see "Iomud"

Yarr
Yarr (Spergula arvensis) is a white wild flower common in British pastures.

Yarrow
Yarrow is a perennial herb with a creeping rhizome and erect, furrowed and downy stems. Yarrow flowers between June and August, and is common throughout Europe and Asia.

Yazdi
see "Baluchi"

Yeast
Yeast is a fungus.

Yellow Bunting
see "Yellow Hammer"

Yellow Hammer
The yellow hammer or yellow bunting (Emberiza citrinella) is a British and north European species of bunting. The birds are about sixteen centimeres long, the general colouring mottled brown above and yellow below, the head being yellow, streaked with brown, and the rump and tail coverts chestnut. The food is chiefly insects and fruits, especially blackberries in autumn. The nest is placed usually upon the ground and contains four or five eggs.

Yellow sage
see "Red sage"

Yellow Wood
The yellow wood (Cladrastis tinctoria) is an American tree of the order Leguminosae. It is a tall-growing tree, with a smooth bark and yellow wood. In summer it bears loose, drooping panicles of long, fragrant white flowers. A dye is prepared from the wood.

Yew
The yew (Taxus) is a genus of evergreen trees of the family taxaceae. It was sacred to the ancient pagan religion of Britain.

Yorkshire Leicester
The Yorkshire Leicester or Wensleydale is a breed of British sheep. It is a large, hornless animal with open lustrous wool and bluish skin on the face and ears.

Yorkshire Terrier
The Yorshire Terrier is a breed of small dog formerly known as the Scottish broken-haired terrier. It varies in weight from six to twenty-eight kilograms. The head is moderately long and wedge-shaped. The body is short and compact and covered with an abundance of long straight hair.

Yucca
The yucca is a genus of American plants of the order Liliaceae. They bear many-flowered panicles of large showy flowers, and usually thick lanceolate leaves, clustered at the summit of the woody caudex.

Zamia
Zamia are a genus of tropical palm-like plants of the order Cycadaceae. They are natives of the West Indies and South and Central America. They bear pinnate leaves, few in number.

Zebra
The zebra is a black and white striped wild horse found in Africa.

Zebu
see "Brahman"

Zenaida macroura
see "Mourning Dove"

Zizania aquatica
see "Canada Rice"

Zoantharia
Zoantharia is an order of anthozoa. They have simple tentacles occuring in multiples of six.

Zoomastigina
The zoomastigina are a subclass of mastigophora.

Copyright 1997,1998 Servile Software Enquiries to Matthew Probert

START PAGE

This site is run as a free public information service