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kite. -- As*cend"ing*ly, adv. Ascending latitude (Astron.), the increasing latitude of a planet. Ferguson. -- Ascending line (Geneol.), the line of relationship traced backward or through one's ancestors. One's father and mother, grandfather and grandmother, etc., are in the line direct ascending. -- Ascending node…

A pitcher-shaped, or flask-shaped, organ or appendage of a plant, as the leaves of the pitcher plant, or the little bladderlike traps of the bladderwort (Utricularia).

Of, pertaining to, or resembling, plants of the Milkweed family.

A genus of plants including the milkweed, swallowwort, and some other species having medicinal properties. Asclepias butterfly (Zoöl.), a large, handsome, red and black butterfly (Danais Archippus), found in both hemispheres. It feeds on plants of the genus Asclepias.

A genus of plants of the natural order Leguminosæ. The species are chiefly natives of the Cape of Good Hope.

A white, nitrogenous, crystallizable substance, C4H8N2O3+H2O, found in many plants, and first obtained from asparagus. It is believed to aid in the disposition of nitrogenous matter throughout the plant; -- called also altheine.

A genus of perennial plants belonging to the natural order Liliaceæ, and having erect much branched stems, and very slender branchlets which are sometimes mistaken for leaves. Asparagus racemosus is a shrubby climbing plant with fragrant flowers. Specifically: The Asparagus officinalis, a species cultivated in gardens.…

The situation of planets or stars with respect to one another, or the angle formed by the rays of light proceeding from them and meeting at the eye; the joint look of planets or stars upon each other or upon the earth. Milton.

The ratio of the long to the short side of an aëroplane, aërocurve, or wing.

A general name for a plant of the genus Asphodelus. The asphodels are hardy perennial plants, several species of which are cultivated for the beauty of their flowers.

or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption, whether in plants or animals. Not conversing the body, not repairing it by assimilation, but preserving it by ventilation. Sir T. Browne.

A plant of the genus Callistephus. Many varieties (called China asters, German asters, etc.) are cultivated for their handsome compound flowers.

A starlike body; esp. one of the numerous small planets whose orbits lie between those of Mars and Jupiter; -- called also planetoids and minor planets.

A fossil plant from the coal formations of Europe and America, now regarded as the branchlets and foliage of calamites.

A genus of papilionaceous plants, of the tribe Galegeæ, containing numerous species, two of which are called, in English, milk vetch and licorice vetch. Gum tragacanth is obtained from different oriental species, particularly the A. gummifer and A. verus.

A stereographic projection of the sphere on the plane of a great circle, as the equator, or a meridian; a planisphere. Whewell.

The determination of the brightness of stars, and also of the sun, moon, and planets. --As`tro*pho`to*met"ric*al (#), a.

(Bot.) A small body situated on or near the nucleus in the cells of some of the lower plants, consisting of two centrospheres containing centrosomes. It exercises an important function in mitosis.

Pertaining to, or resembling, the Aurantiaceæ, an order of plants (formerly considered natural), of which the orange is the type.

Automatic stability; also, inherent stability. An aëroplane is inherently stable if it keeps in steady poise by virtue of its shape and proportions alone; it is automatically stable if it keeps in steady poise by means of self-operative mechanism.