Kids Research Express

Honeysuckle, common name for a plant family and for its representative genus. The family contains about 400 species of dicot flowering plants, including many ornamentals. It occurs mainly in the North Temperate Zone, particularly in China, but it also extends into tropical mountains. Its members are mostly shrubs or small trees, although some familiar members are herbaceous—for example, elderberry and some species of honeysuckle, such as Japanese honeysuckle. The leaves are opposite one another on the branch and lack stipules (leafy appendages at the leaf base); the calyx and corolla (floral whorls) have fused parts and arise from above the ovary (female flower part); and usually five stamens are borne on the inside of the corolla tube. The fruit is usually a berry. The family contains many ornamentals, such as the honeysuckle, a genus of about 180 species of usually fragrant shrubs and vines—including the trumpet honeysuckle—more than 30 of which are cultivated; the elders; the arrow

Huckleberry, common name for any of a genus of shrubs (see Heath ), native to temperate North America. The pale-purple or pale-red flowers, borne in racemes, have a five-part calyx, a five-cleft tubular or bell-shaped corolla, ten stamens, and a solitary pistil. The blue to black fruit contains ten bony, seedlike nutlets. Lower surfaces of huckleberry leaves are sprinkled with resinous dots. Black huckleberry, native to woodlands and swamps of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, is a shrub growing 30 to 91 cm (12 to 36 in) high, producing edible black fruits. Bear huckleberry, or buckberry, native to woodlands of the southeastern United States, is a slender shrub, less than 30 cm (12 in) high, producing unpalatable reddish-black fruits. Dangleberry, native to the eastern United States, is a low shrub producing dark-blue sweet fruits. Huckleberries are often cultivated in the United States for their foliage and fruit. Scientific classification: Huckleberries constitute th

Laurel (plant), common name for a flowering plant family, widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, and for its representative genus. The laurel family contains between 30 and 50 genera and at least 2000 species. Several well-known and important genera of the family also occur in temperate areas, for example, camphor , cinnamon , avocado , and spice-bush. The laurel, or bay, also called bay laurel and bayberry, is a large evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean region; it has been important since classical times and is now widely cultivated in warm temperate areas as an ornamental and for its aromatic leaves, which are used in cooking. California bay yields a valuable wood. The order to which the family belongs contains 8 families with about 2500 species distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Many species exhibit botanically interesting structures, and some are of economic value because of the useful products derived from them. Although a great diversity of f

Tansy, common name for a genus of about 70 north temperate species of flowering plants of the family of composite flowers . A few are native to the United States. The common tansy is an aromatic perennial herb growing to about 1 m (about 3 ft) high, with deeply divided leaves and yellow flowering heads. Native to Europe and now naturalized in North America, it is grown as a garden ornamental; it also has been used in cooking and to make a tonic. Scientific classification: Tansies make up the genus Tanacetum of the family Asteraceae (formerly Compositae). The common tansy is classified as Tanacetum vulgare.

Composite Flowers, common name for one of the largest families of flowering plants, with more than 20,000 species. The common name refers to the clustering of the flowers into compact heads so that an entire cluster resembles a single flower, as in the familiar aster or dandelion. The composite family is worldwide in distribution except for Antarctica, where two species of grasses are the only flowering plants known. Composites are particularly well adapted to semiarid parts of tropical and subtropical regions, to arctic and alpine tundra, and to temperate regions. They are poorly represented only in tropical rain forests. Although the composite family contains nearly 10 percent of all the flowering plants, its direct economic importance is relatively small. Lettuce is the most important crop; other notable food plants are artichoke, endive, salsify, chicory, and tarragon. Sunflower and safflower are important sources of vegetable oils, and some members such as guayule have been studie

Cinnamon, common name for several related trees of the laurel family, and for a spice made from the dried bark of the trees. The best-known species is native to Sri Lanka; it is cultivated in many other tropical countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, but that grown in Sri Lanka is superior in taste. The tree, which usually grows up to 12 m (40 ft) high, is cultivated to grow four to five stems. When the bark begins to turn brown, the stems, which may be about 2.5 m (about 8 ft) tall and 5 cm (2 in) in diameter at the base, are harvested and new ones are trained to grow in their place. After the tree is stripped of leaves and twigs, the inner and outer bark is removed. As the bark dries, it forms rolls (quills), the smaller of which are inserted into the larger, and when fully dry, these are tied in bundles for shipment. Cinnamon is yellowish brown and has a distinctive fragrant aroma and a sweetish, pungent taste. It has been used since early times as a spice in many culinary prep

Avocado, also alligator pear, common name for a tree (see Laurel ), native to tropical America, and for the fruit of this tree. The fruit is a greenish, thick-skinned drupe, similar in size and shape to a large pear. When ripe, the flesh has the consistency of firm butter and a faint nutlike flavor. It has a high fat content, containing 10 to 20 percent oil, and is rich in protein. In the United States avocado is popular as a salad vegetable, and in the tropics it is often used in soup. The tree is extensively cultivated in the southern United States and California. Scientific classification: The avocado tree belongs to the family Lauraceae. It is classified as Persea americana.