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A plant of the genus Aralia, the root of which is highly valued as a medicine among the Chinese. The Chinese plant (Aralia Schinseng) has become so rare that the American (A. quinquefolia) has largely taken its place, and its root is now an article of export from America to China. The root, when dry, is of a yellowish…

A lilylike plant, of the genus Gladiolus; -- called also corn flag.

A genus of plants having bulbous roots and gladiate leaves, and including many species, some of which are cultivated and valued for the beauty of their flowers; the corn flag; the sword lily.

The larval state (Phyllosoma) of the genus Palinurus and allied genera. It is remarkable for its strange outlines, thinness, and transparency. See Phyllosoma.

A remarkable vitreous sponge, of the genus Hyalonema, first brought from Japan. It has a long stem, consisting of a bundle of long and large, glassy, siliceous fibers, twisted together.

A small, transparent, land snail, of the genus Vitrina.

A siliceous sponge, of the genus Hyalonema, and allied genera; -- so called from their glassy fibers or spicules; -- called also vitreous sponge. See Glass-rope, and Euplectella.

A genus of nudibranchiate mollusks, found in the warmer latitudes, swimming in the open sea. These mollusks are beautifully colored with blue and silvery white.

m round A globe of fiery seraphim inclosed. Milton. Globe amaranth (Bot.), a plant of the genus Gomphrena (G. globosa), bearing round heads of variously colored flowers, which long retain color when gathered. -- Globe animalcule, a small, globular, locomotive organism (Volvox globator), once throught to be an animal,…

A plant of the genus Trollius (T. Europæus), found in the mountainous parts of Europe, and producing handsome globe-shaped flowers.

A genus of small Foraminifera, which live abundantly at or near the surface of the sea. Their dead shells, falling to the bottom, make up a large part of the soft mud, generally found in depths below 3,000 feet, and called globigerina ooze. See Illust. of Foraminifera.

A genus of climbing plants with very showy lilylike blossoms, natives of India.

A coleopterous insect of the genus Lampyris; esp., the wingless females and larvæ of the two European species (L. noctiluca, and L. splendidula), which emit light from some of the abdominal segments. Like a glowworm in the night, The which hath fire in darkness, none in light. Shak.

American genus of herbaceous plants with very handsome bell- shaped blossoms; -- named after B. P. Gloxin, a German botanist.

A genus of papilionaceous herbaceous plants, one species of which (G. glabra), is the licorice plant, the roots of which have a bittersweet mucilaginous taste.

A genus of composite plants with white or colored dry and persistent involucres; a kind of everlasting.

A blood-sucking dipterous fly, of the genus Culex, undergoing a metamorphosis in water. The females have a proboscis armed with needlelike organs for penetrating the skin of animals. These are wanting in the males. In America they are generally called mosquitoes. See Mosquito.

One of two species of large South African antelopes of the genus Catoblephas, having a mane and bushy tail, and curved horns in both sexes. [Written also gnoo.]

A hollow-horned ruminant of the genus Capra, of several species and varieties, esp. the domestic goat (C. hircus), which is raised for its milk, flesh, and skin.

A fish of the genus Upeneus, inhabiting the Gulf of Mexico. It is allied to the surmullet.