Kids Research Express

Belladonna, also deadly nightshade, common name for an Old World herb, and for a crude drug obtained from the plant. Belladonna is a biennial or annual plant with large simple leaves and bell-shaped flowers. The flower tube is five-pointed, dull purple or red-purple, and surrounded by five green sepals. The fruit is a single green berry that becomes purple to black with maturity. Belladonna is occasionally grown in gardens in North America but rarely becomes naturalized. It does not normally persist without cultivation. Other members of the nightshade family are sometimes erroneously called belladonna. All parts of the true belladonna are poisonous and narcotic. The leaves and root contain alkaloids; one, atropine, is used to dilate the pupils of the eyes, to facilitate eye examinations and as an antispasmodic in the treatment of asthma. In earlier times in Italy, extracts of belladonna were used by women for the cosmetic value of this dilating effect; such use explains the origin of t...

Barley, common name for any of a genus of cereal grass, native to Asia and Ethiopia, and one of the most ancient of cultivated plants (see Grasses ). Its cultivation is mentioned in the Bible, and it was grown by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese. It is now the fourth largest grain crop, after wheat, rice, and corn. In the United States and Canada, as well as in the greater portion of Europe, barley is sown in the spring. Along the Mediterranean Sea and in parts of California and Arizona, it is sown in the fall. It is also grown as a winter annual in the southern United States. Drought resistant and hardy, barley can be grown on marginal cropland; salt-resistant strains are being developed to increase its usefulness in coastal regions. Barley germinates at about the same temperature as wheat. The different cultivated varieties of barley belong to three distinct types: two-rowed barley, six-rowed barley, and irregular barley. The varieties grown in the United States ar...

.. Coffee, common name for any of a genus of trees of the madder family, and also for their seeds (beans) and for the beverage brewed from them. Of the 30 or more species of the genus, only three are important: Arabian, robusta, and Liberian. The shrub or small tree, 4.6 to 6 m (15 to 20 ft) high at maturity, bears shiny green, ovate leaves that persist for three to five years and white, fragrant flowers that bloom for only a few days. During the six or seven months after appearance of the flower, the fruit develops, changing from light green to red and, ultimately, when fully ripe and ready for picking, to deep crimson. The mature fruit, which resembles a cherry, grows in clusters attached to the limb by very short stems, and it usually contains two seeds, or beans, surrounded by a sweet pulp. CHARACTERISTICS Coffee contains a complex mixture of chemical components of the bean, some of which are not affected by roasting. Other compounds, particularly those related to the aroma, are pr...

Vegetable, the edible product of a herbaceous plant—that is, a plant with a soft stem, as distinguished from the edible nuts and fruits produced by plants with woody stems such as shrubs and trees. Vegetables can be grouped according to the edible part of each plant: leaves (lettuce), stalks (celery), roots (carrot), tubers (potato), bulbs (onion), and flowers (broccoli). In addition, fruits such as the tomato and seeds such as the pea are commonly considered vegetables. Most vegetables are valuable sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and are low in fat and calories. With cereals and legumes, they are important to a healthy diet (see Human Nutrition ). See also Cereals ; Fruit ; Legume ; Nut .

Bark, hard covering or rind of the stem, branches, and roots of a tree or other plant, as distinguished from the wood. The bark consists of an inner and outer layer. Bark is used commercially in the tanning of leather, in boatbuilding, and in basket making and in the manufacture of clothing and shoes, food flavoring, medicine, and cork and cork products. Barks rich in tannin are usually used for tanning, although other properties also determine the value of a bark for preparing leather. Bark from several species of oak in the genus Quercus and from the Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) used to supply much of the tannin in the northern United States. In recent years, however, use of the wood or fruit of many other trees and the development of synthetic tannins have replaced earlier sources.

Autumn Crocus, common name for a bulbous herb (see Lily ). Native to Europe and not a true crocus , this garden plant, which is also called meadow saffron , takes its name from its unusual pattern of flowering. In spring, several large, straplike leaves grow from the bulb , more or less erect, to a height of 60 cm (24 in) or more. When the leaves fall off in the autumn, clusters of purple or white crocuslike flowers appear. Autumn crocus contains poisonous alkaloids , the principal one being colchicine. Scientific classification: The autumn crocus belongs to the family Liliaceae. It is classified as Colchicum autumnale.

Bulb, mass of overlapping, usually fleshy leaves on a short stem, enclosing, protecting, and serving as a source of food for at least one bud that may develop into a new plant. The bulb, usually developed underground, has roots growing down from the stem. The truncated bulb, as in the onion, has tightly overlapping leaves; the scaly bulb, as in garlic, is looser. In common usage the term bulb also refers to bulblike stems, such as the corm of the crocus or the tuber of the dahlia, and even to rhizomes, masses of roots, and some underground stems. See also Rhizome; Tuber .