SPONGE n.
any one of several varieties of coarse commercial sponges having the surface irregularly tufted, as Spongia graminea, and S. equina, variety cerebriformis, of Florida and the West Indies. -- Horse sponge, a coarse commercial sponge, especially Spongia equina. -- Platinum sponge. (Chem.) See under Platinum. -- Pyrot…
TUSSOCK n.
æspitosa), valuable for fodder, introduced into Scotland from the Falkland Islands. (b) A tufted grass (Aira cæspitosa). (c) Any kind of sedge (Carex) which forms dense tufts in a wet meadow or boggy place. -- Tussock moth (Zoöl.), the imago of any tussock caterpillar. They belong to Orgyia, Halecidota, and allied gen…
WART n.
dened protuberance on plants. Fig wart, Moist wart (Med.), a soft, bright red, pointed or tufted tumor found about the genitals, often massed into groups of large size. It is a variety of condyloma. Called also pointed wart, venereal wart. L. A. Duhring. -- Wart cress (Bot.), the swine's cress. See under Swine. -- Wa…
WIDGEON n.
ld-faced, or Green-headed, widgeon, the American widgeon. -- Black widgeon, the European tufted duck. -- Gray widgeon. (a) The gadwall. (b) The pintail duck. -- Great headed widgeon, the poachard. -- Pied widgeon. (a) The poachard. (b) The goosander. Saw-billed widgeon, the merganser. -- Sea widgeon. See in the Vo…
WITCH n.
e steppes of Tartary. Cf. Tumbleweed. Maunder (Treas. of Bot.) -- Witches' besoms (Bot.), tufted and distorted branches of the silver fir, caused by the attack of some fungus. Maunder (Treas. of Bot.) -- Witches' butter (Bot.), a name of several gelatinous cryptogamous plants, as Nostoc commune, and Exidia glandulosa.…