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Dab is a common name for several species of marine flat fish of the families Bothidae and Pleuronectidae, the flat fishes, particularly species of the genus Limanda and in North America Limanda and Citharichthys. The common dab is of a pale-brownish colour spotted with white on the side which it usually keeps uppermost, and white on the underside, and has rougher scales than the other members of the same genus. It is preferred to the flounder for the table.
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The dabchick (Podiceps ruficollis) or little grebe is an English diving bird of the grebe (Podicipedidae) family. The dabchick is to be found in ponds and rivers throughout most of the old world, but not in arctic regions. It feeds on crustaceans, molluscs, insects and some plant material. The large nest is built of wet, rotting aquatic plants and may float on the water or rest in shallow water.
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The Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus) is a fresh water fish of the carp family (Cyprinidae). They are found in fast-flowing streams and lakes, often forming shoals. The dace resembles the roach but is longer and thinner. It is a gregarious fish inhabiting chiefly deep clear streams with a gentle current. It seldom exceeds a pound in weight.
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Dacentrurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period, one of the Stegosaurus family, about 1.5 metres wide but its length is unknown as only a few bones have been discovered. The remains of Dacentrurus were first discovered in England in the 1870's and had pairs of spines along its back. It is believed that Dacentrurus walked on all fours and was a herbivore.
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The Dachshund, Teckel or badger dog is a small German dog originally bred for badger hunting in the Middle Ages. The body is extraordinarily long, the ears pendulous and the legs very short. Dachshunds are very affectionate and courageous animals.
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Dacne is a genus of small beetle of the family Erotylidae.
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Dacrydium is a genus of coniferous trees with a slightly drooping habit.
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The Daddy-Long-Legs Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) is a narrow-bodies, long- legged spider associated in Britain with buildings - being unable to survive the cold. The spider which spins a tangled, untidy web is often found hanging upside down from the ceiling.
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The daffodil are several species of plant of the genus narcissus distinguished by their bell-shaped corollas.
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The Dahlia - named after the Swedish botanist Andrew Dahl - is a genus of perennial plants of the Compositae family native to Mexico, but introduced into Britain as a popular garden plant in 1789. Snails are very fond of the foliage of the Dahlia, and will often strip domestic plants of all their leaves.
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The daisy is a genus of hardy perennial herbs of the Compositae family. The solitary flowerheads have white to pinkish, ligulate ray-florets and yellow, tubular disc-florets that close in the evening and are very attractive to bees. The fruit is an oval, downy achene without a pappus.
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Dalbergia is a genus of fine tropical forest trees and climbing shrubs of the family Leguminosae. The group includes the black-wood tree (also called the East Indian rosewood) and the sissoo. Some species of the genus yield excellent timber. Dalbergia latifolia (the black-wood, or East Indian rosewood) is a magnificent tree, furnishing one of the most valuable furniture woods. Dalbergia Sissoo gives a hard durable wood, called sissoo, formerly much employed in India for railway-sleepers, house and ship building, etc.
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The Dales Pony is an English breed of strong, enduring, placid and good natured pony native to the north of England. They stand 14 hands high, and are mostly black, dark brown or bay in colour. They are excellent work ponies when harnessed, and perform better in some areas than a tractor.
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The Dall's sheep (Ovis dalli) is an American wild sheep with white hair and curved hors found in the mountains of north-western North America.
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The Dalmatian (or spotted carriage dog) is a Croatian (originating from the region of Dalmatia in East Croatia) breed of spotted dog half-hound and half-pointer. It was formerly known as the Danish Spotted or Coach Dog. Dalmatians were first introduced to England during the 18th century and used as coach dogs (protecting travellers from highwaymen) before becoming fashionable in England about 1820. Dalmatians are an energetic breed, good house dogs and rarely bark unless in the presence of strangers.
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Dalopius is a genus of click beetle (Elateridae). The larvae live in forest soil where they eat insect larvae and roots.
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The Damani is a thin tail, mutton and wool breed of sheep which is found in the Dera Ismail Khan district and part of Bannu district in NWF Province of Pakistan. They are small to medium with a white body coat with a black or tan head and camel coloured legs. They have small ears. The udder and teats are well developed.
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Dames-violet (Dames-wort) is a British perennial plant of the family Cruciferae. It grows to about 60 to 90 centimetres tall and flowers in May and June.
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The dammar pine (dammara pine) is a genus of trees of the family Coniferae distinguished by their large lanceolated leathery leaves, and by their seeds having a wing on one side instead of proceeding from the end. The Dammara orientalis is a lofty tree of the East India Archipelago, attaining on some of the Molucca Islands a height of from 80 to 100 feet. It yields one variety of dammar resin. The Kauri pine, or Dammara australis, found only in the North Island of New Zealand, is a magnificent tree, rising to a height of 150 to 160 feet, and yielding kauri gum.
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The Damon Blue (Agrodiaetus damon) is a rare butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in Europe and Asia in mountainous regions at altitudes up to about 2500 meters, mainly in places with the plant sainfoin.
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The damselfly is a slender, predatory insect of the suborder Zygoptera, order Odonata, very similar to a dragon-fly but with wings of equal length when folded over the body while the animal is resting.
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Damson is a variety of the common plum (Prunus domestica). The fruit is rather small and oval, and its numerous sub-varieties are of different colours: black, bluish, dark purple, yellow, etc. The damson (a corruption of Damascene), as its name imports, is from Damascus.
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Danacaea is a genus of beetle of the family Melyridae.
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Danaidae is the milkweed family of butterflies.
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The dandelion (Leontodon taraxacum) is a plant of the family Compositae indigenous to Europe, but introduced into America. It gets its name from its appearance, dent de lion (French for Lion's tooth), the leaves being all radical, and runcinate or jagged on the margin. The stems are hollow and have one bright yellow flower. The tapering, milky perennial root was formerly used as a medicine for liver complaints. The whole plant is full of a milky and bitter juice. The seed of the plant is furnished with a white pappus, and is transported far and wide by the wind.
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The Dandie Dinmont is a breed of terrier that originated in the Scottish border country for hunting badgers and otters. It is about 25 centimetres tall, short-legged and long-bodied, with drooping ears and a long tail. Its hair, about five centimetres long, can be greyish or yellowish. It is named after the character Dandie Dinmont in Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering.
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The Danish Red is a breed of cattle.
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The Danish Warmblood is a Danish breed of competition horse used for dressage and show-jumping. The Danish Warmblood stands 16.2 hands high and is mostly bay in colour but also occurs in other whole colours.
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The Danube Lamprey (Eudontomyzon danfordi) is a parasitic freshwater fish of the family Petromyzonidae found in the headwaters of the Danube and its tributaries. The Danube Lamprey is serpentine in shape and grows to about 30 cm in length. Unlike the Brook Lamprey, the Danube Lamprey becomes parasitic when adult, attaching itself to fish by its sucker; scrapes a hole in their skin and sucks out the blood and flesh.
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Daphne is a genus of plants of the natural order Thymelaceae. They are shrubs, inhabiting the greater part of the northern hemisphere, but chiefly the south of Europe and the warmer parts of Asia. The best known is the mezereon (Daphne Mezereum), with pale-green leaves and very fragrant flowers. Daphne Laureola (the spurge laurel) is a low shrub with few branches and smooth erect stems which are bare of leaves except at the summit. The leaves are smooth, shining and evergreen. The flowers are green, and fragrant in damp weather. The berries are black, egg-shaped and poisonous.
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Daphnia is a genus of minute crustaceans belonging to the division Branchiopoda. They are the water-fleas. The best-known species is the Daphnia pulex, or 'branch-horned' water-flea, which is a favourite microscopic object. The head is prolonged into a snout, and is provided with a single, central, compound eye; it is also furnished with antennae, which act as oars, propelling it through the water by a series of short springs or jerks. These animals are very abundant in many ponds and ditches; and as they assume a red colour in summer impart the appearance of blood to the water.
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The Dark Arches (Apamea monoglypha) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 45 and 55 mm found in meadows in Europe and Asia flying from July to August.
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The Dark Bordered Beauty (Epione paralellaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 25 and 30 mm found in temperate Europe and Asia in damp biotopes flying from June to August.
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The Dark Crimson Underwing (Catocala sponsa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 60 and 70 mm found in northern Africa, temperate Europe and Asia Minor flying from July to September.
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The Dark Fruit-Tree Tortrix (Pandemis heparana) is a moth of the family Tortricidae with a wing span of between 16 and 25 mm found in warmer parts of Europe and Asia flying from June to august.
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The Dark Green Fritillary (Mesoacidalia aglaja) is a species of brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) with a wing span of about 50 mm, found in grassy meadow clearings, rides and slopes ranging from coastal dunes to mountain meadows.
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The Dark Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta citrata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 25 and 30 mm found in central and northern Europe and Asia flying from July to August.
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The Dark Spectacle (Abrostola trigemina) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 28 and 32 mm distributed throughout the temperate zone of Europe and Asia. Two generations appear flying from May to September.
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The Dark spinach (Pelurga comitata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 25 and 30 mm found in temperate Europe and Asia flying from June to September in open country, steppes, forest-steppes, fields and wasteland.
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The Dark Sword Grass (Agrotis ipsilon) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found all over the world as a result of its migratory habits.
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The Dark Tussock (Dasychira fascelina) is a moth of the family Lymantriidae widespread in northern and central Europe living at altitudes up to 1000 m.
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The Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe ferrugata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 18 and 22 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from April to September in two generations.
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The Dark-Veined White (Pieris bryoniae) is a mountain butterfly of the family Pieridae found in Europe, Asia and Alaska at altitudes up to 2000 metres.
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The Darley Arabians were a breed of successful English race horses produced from an Arab stallion introduced by a Mr Darley.
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Darlingtonia is a genus of American pitcher plants of the family Sarraceniceae. The leaves are long and trumpet-shaped, with a wing rising from one side of the mouth.
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Darnel (Lolium temulentum) is the only poisonous British grass. It is a species of rye-grass and was formerly a common weed among cereal crops.
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The Darters or Snake-bird (Plotus) is a genus of web-footed birds of the pelican tribe closely related to the cormorant, but differing in its much longer neck and heron-like pointed bill. Darters are found in South America, Africa, tropical Asia and Australia, fishing in rivers and ponds after the manner of cormorants, but nesting in trees. The birds perch on trees by the sides of lakes, lagoons, and rivers, and after hovering over the water suddenly dart at their prey with unerring aim (hence the name). From the serpent-like form of their head and neck, the head being scarcely thicker than the neck, they are called snake-birds.
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The Dartmoor Pony is an English breed of pony native to Dartmoor in southern England. They are placid and good natured ponies standing 12 hands high, mostly bay, brown or black in colour. They are good jumpers and movers resulting in them being used as a foundation stock for riding ponies.
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Dascillidae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera. The larvae of the family feed on roots, the adults live in flowers and bushes.
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Dascillus is a genus of beetle of the family Dascillidae. It is the only British genera of the family.
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Daspletosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Daspletosaurus was a carnivore that walked on its hind legs, had two weak arms furnished with two fingers on each, a huge head with dagger-like teeth and was about 9 metres long. The first nearly-complete skeleton of a Daspletosaurus was discovered in 1921 in Alberta, Canada among remains of other dinosaurs including Albertosaurus, which Daspletosaurus was at first identified as. However, by 1970 it was apparent that while similar, Daspletosaurus was a distinct animal to Albertosaurus, being heavier and with larger fore limbs.
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Dasypeltinae is the African Egg-eating Snakes subfamily of reptiles of the family Colubridae (the Typical Snakes) of the sub-order Serpentes (Snakes). The subfamily contains a single genus.
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Dasytes is a genus of beetle of the family Melyridae.
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Dasyure or Dasyurus are the brush-tailed opossums, a genus of plantigrade marsupials found in Australia and Tasmania. They are so named in contrast to the opossums of the New World (Didelphys), which have naked tails somewhat like rats. The ursine dasyure (Dasyurus ursinus) of Tasmania is about the size of a badger, but of a sturdier form, of a dull black colour, carnivorous, and of so savage a temper as to have gained for itself the alternative name of Diabolus ursinus, or Tasmanian Devil. Formerly it was most destructive to flocks and poultry-yards, but by the start of the 20th century it was nearly extirpated in inhabited districts. The various species of the genus have much the same nature and habits as the European polecat.
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Dasyuromorphia is an order of Metatheria. All the species are either insectivorous or carnivorous.
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The date, is the fruit of the date palm or the tree itself, the Phoenix dactylifera. The
fruit is used extensively as an article of food by the natives of Northern Africa and of some countries of Asia. It consists of an external pericarp, separable into three portions and covering a seed which is hard and horny in consequence of the nature of the albumen in which the embryo plant is buried.
Next to the coconut tree the date is unquestionably the most interesting and useful of the palm tribe. Its stem shoots up to the height of 50 or 60 feet without branch or division, and of nearly the same thickness throughout its length. From the summit it throws out a magnificent crown of large feather-shaped leaves, and a number of spadices, each of which in the female plant bears a bunch of from 180 to 200 dates, each bunch weighing from 9 to 11 kgs. The fruit is eaten fresh or dried. Cakes of dates pounded and kneaded together are the food of the nomad Arabs who traverse the deserts. A liquor resembling wine is made from dates by fermentation. The Middle East, and the north of Africa are best adapted for the culture of the date-tree, and its fruit in these countries is an important article of food.
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The date-plum or persimmon is the name given to several mostly tropical trees of the Ebony family (Diospyros) bearing edible fruit. The American date-plum (Diospyros virginiana) is a medium sized tree, often fifteen metres or more in height. Its fruit is much like a reddish-yellow plum, containing eight or ten seeds.
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Datousaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Remains of Datousaurus were first discovered in Sichuan province, China between 1979 and 1981. It was a large herbivore about 14 metres long with a long neck and tail. The head was large with large spoon-shaped teeth in the mouth.
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Datura is a genius of plants of the family Solanaceae, with large trumpet- shaped flowers. They are all poisonous. The genus includes the thorn-apple, which posesses strong narcotic properties and some-times employed as a remedy for neuralgia, convulsions, etc. The dried leaves of Datura Stramonium, and Datura Tatula, an American species, were formerly smoked as a cure for asthma.
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Daubenton's Bat (Myotis daubentoni) is a British bat with a wing-span of about 25 cm, the wings comparatively rather short and broad. The ears are well spaced, rather long and pointed, the hind edge very slightly notched and ending just in front of the base of the tragus. The tragus is narrow and half as long as the ear, widest at its middle, straight, and bluntly pointed at the tip. The first two premolars in upper and lower jaws are smaller than the rest of the teeth, and the lower incisors broad and flattened. The fur is short and extends a short distance on to both surfaces of the wing. The colour is a grizzled warm brown on the upper surface, lighter brown below, where the hairs are tipped with yellowish white, giving the under surface a distinctly lighter colour. The range of Daubenton's bat extends throughout Europe from southern Scandinavia southwards, and eastwards half-way across Asia.
In Great Britain it is generally common wherever there are woods near stretches of water, its restriction to the neighbourhood of water having gained it the name of 'water-bat.' It extends from southern England to Scotland as far as the Great Glen. The species is very gregarious, the daytime dens in caves, trees or buildings near water often containing large numbers of bats - a hundred or more; they generally creep into small crannies but are sometimes found hanging in large clusters. The food consists chiefly of ephemerid or cadds-flies of small size caught as the bat flies close over the surface of water. The quivering slow flight as the bat skims very close to the water is characteristic. The bats start foraging over the water about an hour after sunset and the flight lasts all night, until rather less than an hour before sunrise.
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Daucus is a genus of umbelliferous plants, including the carrot.
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The dauw or peechi (Equus Burcheli) is a species of zebra found in the plains of South Africa north of the Orange River. Its general colour is a pale brown, with greyish-white on the abdomen and inner parts of the limbs. Its head, neck, and body, and the upper parts of its limbs are striped like the zebra, but the stripes are not so dark in colour.
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Day-lily is the popular name for a genus of lilies (Hemerocallis), natives of temperate Asia and Eastern Europe, two species of which (Hemerocallis.flava and Hemorocallis fulva) are grown in gardens. They have long radical leaves, and a branched few-flowered scape, with large handsome blossoms, the segments of which are united into a tube.
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Dayfly is the popular name of those neuropterous insects which belong to the genua Ephemera. They are so called because, though they may exist in the larval and pupal state for several years, in their perfect form they exist only from a few hours to a few days, taking no food, but only propagating their species and then dying.
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The deadnettle or dead-nettle is a species of plant of the genus Lamium, family Labiatae which resemble the nettle in appearance but have no sting. The white deadnettle (Lamium album) or archangel is a perennial herb with a creeping rhizome and an erect, square, leafy stem. The leaves are opposite, stalked, cordate, long-pointed and sharply serrated. The flowers are white, arranged in loose whorls, and grow from the upper leaf axils. The corolla is distinctly two-lipped. The upper lip forms a hoop, the lower lip has two very small lateral lobes each with a small tooth and a notched middle lobe. The anthers are black and tucked under the hooded upper lip. The fruit consists of four nutlets.
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The deal-fish (Trachypterus arcticus), so called from its excessively compressed body, is a fish found around Iceland and Norway. It is between four and eight feet long, a silvery colour and has minute scales. The dorsal fin extends along the whole length of the back.
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The death's head moth is a large handsome moth related to the hawk-moth with a wing span in the region of 12 cm. It is so named from its likeness to a large yellow patch on the thorax of the human skull. It is remarkable for the sound it produces, somewhat resembling the squeaking of a mouse. The larva, by snapping its mandibles together, emits a clicking sound comparable to a series of electric sparks. This moth has been known to enter bee hives and take honey. It was formerly regarded by the uneducated as the forerunner of death or other calamity.
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The Death's-head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) is a moth of the family Sphingidae with a wing span of between 80 and 120 mm native to Africa and south-west Asia from whence it migrates north each year during May and June, producing a summer generation in some localities.
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The Death-watch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum) is a species of beetle of the family Anobiidae. They range from five to eight millimetres in length, and are renowned for damaging wood work in buildings. They make a peculiar ticking sound which superstition formerly interpreted as the forerunner of death.
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Decaisnea is a genus of plants of the family Lardizabalaceae found on the Himalayas. It has erect stalks which look like walking sticks and leaves 60 centimetres long. The fruit resembles a cucumber and has a sweet, yellow edible pulp.
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In the Linnsean system of botany, Decandria is the tenth class of plants. The flowers have ten stamens, and one, two, three or more pistils. It includes the pink, Lychnis, Saxifrage, etc.
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Decapoda is an order of crustaceans of the sub-class Malacostraca. The carapace completely covers the thorax. The exopodite of the maxilla is large. There are three pairs of maxillipeds.
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Deceit is the collective noun for a group of lapwings.
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The December Moth (Poecilocampa populi) is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae with a wing span of between 30 and 45 mm found throughout Europe except the extreme south and in western Asia. A cold-loving moth, it is one of the last moths to appear in the year, flying from October to November after the first autumn frosts.
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Deciduous is a term applied in botany to various organs of plants, particularly leaves, to indicate their annual fall. A tree of which the leaves fall annually is called a deciduous tree, and the same term is applied to the leaves themselves. The term is also applied in zoology to parts which fall off at a certain stage of an animal's existence, as the hair, horns, and teeth of certain animals.
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Deer is the Cervidae family of ruminant hoofed mammals allied to the Antelopes (differing in that the deer's horns - antlers - are shed annually, and the antelope's horns are permanent). They have lithe, but compact bodies and short tails. The legs are long and slender, and they have eight cutting teeth in the lower jaw and none in the upper. Deer are most commonly associated with possessing antlers, though a few species lack antlers. The antlers are bony outgrowths arising from the frontal bones, and in most species are borne only by the male - the Caribou being the exception. Deer are all excellent swimmers, and are widely hunted by man across the world for their meat (venison) and their skin which tans to a soft leather which has been used for clothing for centuries.
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Deer-grass is the name of several North American plants of the genus
Rhexia, order Melastomaceae, with showy purple flowers.
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Deer-mouse is the common name of the animals belonging to the genus Meriones, an American genus of rodent animals allied to the mice and the jerboas of the Old World. The deer-mouse of Canada (Meriones canadensis) is a pretty little animal of the size of a mouse, with very long hind-legs and tail, and very short fore-legs.
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The Deerhound or Scottish Deerhound is a Scottish breed of large dog standing about 76 cm tall. It originated in the 14th century and was bred for stag hunting. A good natured breed, Deerhounds need plenty of exercise.
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Deilus is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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Deinocheirus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Only two arms have been found - in Mongolia during the 1960's - of Deinocheirus, each of which is 260 cm long with three fingers on each hand and powerful claws each 25 cm long.
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Deinonychus was a carnivorous dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Remains of Deinonychus were first discovered during the 1960's in southern Montana, USA. It was three metres long and 1.4 metres tall. A long tail aided balance as it ran. It had 12 cm long claws on its feet which were used for tearing flesh from its prey.
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The Deleb' palm (Borassus Aethiopum) is a palm tree a native of the interior and west of Africa, allied to the Palmyra palm. Its leaves and fruits are used by the Africans for the same purposes as those of the Palmyra by the Asiatics, and the tender roots produced by the young plant are extensively used as an article of food.
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Delphinidae is the dolphin family of mammals, belonging to the order Cetacea.
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The delphinium is a genus of ranunculaceous plants with irregular shaped flowers.
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Demetrias is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, with three species living in Britain, the most common being Demetrias atricapillus which lives in grassy places, other species of the genus live near stagnant water. They are small, plant-climbing beetles with a long, narrow pronotum, a yellowish red body and a black head.
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The demospongia is a class of sponges with a skeleton of four-rayed spicules made of silica, or sponging fibres, or no skeleton at all.
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Den is the collective noun for a group of snakes.
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Dendrobium is a genus of epiphytal orchids of wide distribution, and of great variety as regards size, scent and colour.
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Dendrocoelum is a member of the order Tricladida.
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Dendroctonus is a genus of beetle of the family Scolytidae.
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Dendrophilus is a genus of small beetles of the family Histeridae.
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Dendrophis is a genus of harmless snakes of the family Colubrideae, found in India and Africa, living on trees and feeding on reptiles.
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Dendroxena is a genus of beetles of the carrion beetle, Silphidae, family. Unusually for carrion beetles the adults run about on bushes and trees hunting caterpillars, and are of benefit to farmers by eating procession caterpillars.
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Dentalium is a genus of gasteropodous molluscs, the shell of which consists of a tubular arcuated cone open at both ends, and resembling the tusk of an elephant in miniature. There are many species, known by the common name of tooth-shells.
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Dentaria or coral-root is a genus of plants of the natural order Cruciferae. There are about twenty species, natives of temperate countries. They are ornamental herbs, with creeping singularly toothed root-stocks, from which they receive the names of coral-root and tooth-wort. The stem-leaves are opposite or in whorls of three, and the flowers are large and purple. Dentaria bulbifera, the only British species, is a rare plant in the south-east of England. Dentaria diphylla, or pepperwort, a North American species, has roots that are used as mustard.
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In botany and zoology, the term dentate refers to something having a toothed margin or tooth-like projections.
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Dentex is a genus of acanthopterygious fishes of the family of the Sparidae, or sea-breams. They have conical teeth, and those immediately in front are long and hooked inward, The Dentex vulgaris, common in the Mediterranean, sometimes attains the length of one meter. Its general appearance is not unlike the perch. It is esteemed as an article of food.
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Denticollis is a genus of click beetle (Elateridae), distinguished by a small, humped pronotum which is narrower than the elytra.
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The Dentirostres are a tribe of birds of the order Insessores or Perchers, including Shrikes, Butcher-birds, etc. They are characterized by having a notch and tooth-like process on each side of the margin of the upper mandible. They are rapacious and prey on weaker birds.
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The dephal (Artocarpus Lakoocha) is an Indian tree of the same genus as the bread-fruit and jack fruit, and cultivated for its fruit. The juice is used for bird-lime.
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The Derbyshire Gritstone is a breed of sheep found in the Peak District of Derbyshire and Pennine Districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire.
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Dermatophyte is a parasitic plant, chiefly of the lowest type of the Cryptogamia, infesting the cuticle and epidermis of people and animals, and giving rise to various forms of skin-disease, such as ringworm, etc.
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Dermestidae is the carpet beetle or hide beetle family of insects of the order Coleoptera. The members of the family larvae feed on matter of animal origin, and are serious household pests.
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Dermoptera is the flying lemur order of mammals.
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Derodontidae is a family of beetles notable for the presence of two ocelli on the top of the head.
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Descent is the collective noun for a group of woodpeckers.
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Deutzia is a genus of plants of the natural order Philadelphaceae, containing seven or eight species, all of which are interesting from the beauty of their flowers, some of them favourite garden and greenhouse plants. They are small shrubs indigenous to China and Japan, and Northern India.
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Devil's Bit is the common name of a British species of scabious (Scabiosa succisa), of the natural order Dipsaceae. It has heads of blue flowers nearly globular, and a fleshy root, which is, as it were, cut or bitten off abruptly. It flowers from June to October, and is common in meadows and pastures.
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The Devon is a breed of cattle.
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The Devon Rex is a breed of domestic cat first discovered in Devon, England in 1960. Like the Cornish Rex, the Devon Rex has a curly coat, but the mutant gene is different to that of the Cornish Rex. The Devon Rex has a coarse curly coat, and huge ears. The body is medium sized, with a broad chest, and stands on long slim legs. The tail is long and finely tapering.
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Dew-worm is an old English name for the common earth worm.
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The dewberry (Rubus coesius) is a European plant related to the raspberry and blackberry and belonging to the Rosaceae. The stem is prostrate and nearly round, prickly below, bristly above. The leaves are comprised of three to five leaflets and the fruit consists of a few large drupes covered with greyish bloom which resembles dew - whence the name - and half enclosed in the calyx.
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Dewick's Plusia (Macdunnoughia confusa) is a migratory moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 27 and 35 mm distributed mainly in southern areas of the Palaearctic. Two or three generations appear flying from May to June and from August through to autumn.
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The Dewy Ringlet (Erebia pandrose) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae with a wing span of about 40 mm found in mountains, flying when the sun shines and settling when the sun goes behind a cloud.
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The Dexter is a breed of cattle.
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The dhole (red dog or Asiatic wild dog) is two species of wild dog, one found in Siberia and the other in India. The Indian dhole is about the size of a bull terrier and is distinguished from the genus Canis or dog proper by its having one molar fewer in either side of the lower jaw. It hunts in packs feeding mainly on deer and antelope. It has a reputation for great courage, and is alleged to drive bears, leopards and even tigers from their kills.
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Diadelphia is the name given by Linnaeus to his seventeenth class of plants, distinguished by having their stamens united in two bundles by their filaments.
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The Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) is a moth of the family Plutellidae with a wing span of between 13 and 15 mm native to steppes it has spread to agricultural land and has been introduced to all parts of the world where it is a pest of vegetables. The adults fly from May to September in between two and five generations.
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The diamond-beetle (Entimus imperialis) is a splendid coleopterous insect belonging to the family Curculionidae or weevils. It is very abundant in some parts of South America.
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The Diana Monkey (Cercopithecus diana) is an endangered species of monkey of the family Cercopithecidae found in the middle layer of tropical rain forests of Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana. The Diana Monkey is predominantly black with a white crescent on the forehead resembling the symbol of the goddess Diana and whence the name Diana monkey, white beard, chest, and throat; a white stripe along each thigh; and a deep reddish patch on the back. It is whitish, yellowish, or reddish on the inside of the thighs. The Diana Monkey is fast reducing in numbers due to the logging of the forests and the replanting of them with non-native species of trees.
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Diandria is the second class in the Linnaean system, comprehending all genera with flowers having only two stamens, provided the stamens are neither united at their base, nor combined with the style and stigma, nor separated from the pistil.
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Dianous is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae.
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Dianthus is the carnation genus of Caryophyllaceae distinguished by the presence of scales outside the calyx, by the grouping of the sepals into a tube and other characteristics.
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Diaperis is a genus of darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) that lives in tree fungi.
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The Diapsida is a subclass of reptiles. The skull has two temporal vacuities.
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Diastictus is a genus of small dung beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.
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Diatoms are minute lowly organised plants found in most seas.
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The diatomaceae are a large class of unicellular algae occurring in fresh and salt water and on damp soil. The cells are of diverse forms, their walls silicified and formed of two over-lapping valves, like a box and lid. The cell has a single, complex nucleus, brownish yellow chromatophores, and often contains much oil. The frond secretes a very large quantity of silex, which is formed in each cell into three portions: two generally symmetrical valves and a connecting hoop. The species consist of single free cells, or the cells remain attached so as to form linear, flabelliform, circular, or geniculate fronds, or in some cases the cells or frustules are inclosed in a transparent gelatinous sheath or frond. The ordinary method of increase is by cell division. Diatomaceae are found fossil, forming considerable deposits of tertiary age, as at Bilin, Richmond in the United States, etc. Fossil polishing powders, as tripoli and bergmehl, are composed of them. They are abundant in guano.
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Dicerca is a genus of jewel beetle (Buprestidae). The larvae take between two and three years to develop into flying adults and live chiefly in dead alder wood.
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In botany, a dischasium is a cyme with side branches approximately opposite and equal, always longer than the main stem.
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Dicheirotrichus is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, varying in colour from pale yellowish brown to completely black, and in size from 5 to 8 mm in length, but all live near salt water. They have been known to eat vegetable matter, as was found in Holstein, Germany when they attacked turnips.
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In botany, dichlamydeous is a term used of plants that have both calyx and corolla.
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Dichotomy is a cutting in two; a division by pairs. Hence, in botany, the term describes a mode of branching by constant forking, each branch dividing into two others.
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Dicotyledon is one of the two groups of flowering plants, primarily distinguished from the Monocotyledons by the two cotyledons or seed leaves formed at the end of the growing embryo, and by the depression between which the growing point of the shoot originates.
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Dicraeosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Dicraeosaurus was a huge, herbivore about 20 metres long with a long tail, long neck topped with a long and sloping head and with a mouth furnished with peg-like teeth. The body was large and supported by four thick legs.
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Dicronychus is a genus of click beetle (Elateridae).
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Dictyogens is the name given by Lindley to a group of monocotyledonous plants, with net-veined leaves, intermediate between the monocotyledons and dicotyledons; as the yam, sarsaparilla, etc.
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Dictyoptera is a European genus of net-winged beetles of the family Lycidae. There is one British species, Dictyoptera aurora, which grows to between eight and thirteen millimetres long, and has a small head which is usually kept tucked away under the pronotum.
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The Didactyla is an order of Metatheria. They are carnivorous and insectivorous. The digits are free.
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Didelphimorphia is the opossums order of marsupials.
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Didunculus is a genus of birds allied to the pigeons, and comprising only the one species, Didunculus strigirostris of Samoa.This bird is of special interest as being the nearest living ally of the extinct dodo. It has a length of about 14 inches, with a glossy plumage verging from a velvety black on the back to greenish black on the head, breast, and abdomen. The large beak, which is nearly as long as the head, is greatly arched on the upper half, while the lower is furnished with two or three tooth-like indentations.
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Didynamia is the fourteenth class in the Linnaean system of plants, the members of which have four stamens, of which two are longer than the other two.
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Dielytra or Dicentra is a genus of plants, of the natural order Fumariaceae or Fumitories. The best known is Dielytra spectabilis, a native of Northern China and Siberia, now common in European and other gardens. It blossoms in April and May, and its long drooping racemes of purplish-red blossoms present a very graceful appearance. It grows freely in the open air. It is sometimes called prudent heart or virgin's heart from the shape of the blossoms.
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Dienerella is a genus of Mould Beetle (Lathridiidae). The European species are all small, flat-bodied and have two ribs down each of their elytra.
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Digenea is an order of Trematoda. They are endoparasitic flukes with no hooks or posterior sucker. They usually have a ventral sucker and an oral sucker. The life history requires an intermediate host, often a mollusc. The adults are chiefly parasites of warm-blooded vertebrates.
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Digitalis is a genus of plants of the natural order Scrophulariaceae, containing about twenty species of tall herbs, natives of Europe and Western Asia. The purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a common wild flower in Britain, and several species are grown in gardens. Various preparations from the foxglove receive this name, and are used in medicine, such as digitalis also known as digitalin.
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In botany, the term digitate describes branched out into divisions resembling fingers, and is said of leaves or roots.
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Digitigrada is a section of the Carnivora, so called from their walking on the ends of their toes; as distinguished from the Plantigrada, which, like the bear, place the whole foot upon the ground. This tribe includes the weasel, dog, cat, etc.
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A dik dik is a tiny antelope found in Africa south of the Sahara
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Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an umbelliferous aromatic Eurasian plant, with finely dissected leaves and umbrella-shaped clusters of yellow flowers. The fruits, commonly but erroneously called seeds, of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, and are employed medicinally as a carminative. In appearance it resembles the fennel. Dill-seeds yield dill-water, which is used as a remedy in flatulency and gripes of children.
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Dilleniaceae is a family of trees and shrubs mostly natives of America, Australia and India. Many of them are handsome, and bear flowers of great beauty.
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Dilobidea is a family of moths of the order Lepidoptera containing one species, Diloba caeruleocephala.
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Dilophosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Dilophosaurus was about six metres long and walked upright on its hind legs. The top of the skull was furnished with two very thin, crescent-shaped ridges side-by-side. The mouth was furnished with sharp fangs but had weak jaws, suggesting that it may have been a scavenger, feeding on already dead animals rather than live prey.
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In botany, dimorphism is the condition when analogous organs of the same species appear under two very dissimilar forms. Thus the common primrose occurs in two forms, one having long stamens and a short pistil, the other a long pistil and short stamens.
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Dimorphodon was a dinosaur of the family Dimorphodontidae, of the early Jurrasic period. Dimorphodon was the earliest known pterosaur of the Jurrasic period, and was about one metre long with a wing-span of anout 140 cm. Only a few remains of Dimorphodon have been found, these were in Dorset in England and a single partial specimen in Gloucestershire, England. The nature of the teeth, Dimorphodon had four or five large front teeth followed by a row of smaller teeth in the upper jaw and four or five large teeth followed by on each side by 30 or 40 small pointed teeth, indicate that Dimorphodon probably fed on fish or similar marine animals. The legs were long, and equipped with powerful claws.
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Dinaraea is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, formerly regarded as a subgenus of Atheta.
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Dinarda is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae which lives with ants of the genus Formica.
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The dingo (Canis dingo) is the wild dog found in Australia. Dingos were introduced to Australia from Malaya with the first Aborigine settlers. The dingo is a stout animal with soft short fur, a bushy tail and erect pointed ears. It is generally tan coloured with white markings on the belly, feet and the tip of the tail.
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The Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae found from West Europe East through Asia to China in dry grassy sites and steppes. Two generations are produced in a year, one in early spring and the other in July and August.
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Dinoderus is a genus of False Powder-post Beetles (Bostrychidae) found in bamboo and sugar cane.
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The Dinoflagellata are a family of Phytomastigina. These are the planktons. They have a definite capsule made of cellulose.
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The dinosaurs were a family of reptiles which lived on the earth millions of years ago. About 400 types of dinosaur have been identified. Dinosaurs ranged in size from about as big as a pigeon to twice the height of a giraffe. It is estimated that dinosaurs lived for between 70 and 130 years, and unusually continued growing for their entire life. The first description of a dinosaur was given in the book 'The Natural History of Oxfordshire' by Dr Robert Plot published in 1677, in which he included a drawing of a thigh bone which he claimed came from a giant man, subsequently it has been identified as the thigh bone of the dinosaur Megalosaurus.
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In botany, the term dioecious is applied to plants which have flowers with stamens on one individual and those with pistils on another: as opposed to monoecious. The willow, the yew, the poplar, etc, are dioecious.
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Diomedeidae is the albatross family of birds.
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Dionaea is a genus of plants, of the natural order Droseraceae. Only one species is known, Dionaea muscipula (the Venus fly-trap).
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Diopsis is a genus of dipterous insects, or two-winged flies, the members of which are remarkable for the immense prolongation of the sides of the head, the head appearing as if it were furnished with two long horns, each having a knot at its apex.
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Dioscoreaceae is a family of twining shrubs or herbs belonging to the Monocotyledonous group, but resembling the Dicotyledons in many superficial characters, the leaves being decidedly stalked and having netted veins. The family is a small one, and with the exception of one genus (Tamus) confined to the tropics. The family includes the Yam.
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Diosma is a genus of rutaceous plants inhabiting Southern Africa, allied to Barosma. They have alternate or opposite simple leaves, strongly marked with dots of transparent oil, and diffusing a powerful odour when bruised. Some species are cultivated for their white or pinkish flowers.
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Diospyros is a large genus of trees and shrubs of the family Ebenacea, from which ebony is obtained. They are natives of the warmer regions of the world. That ebony from Sri Lanka is the wood of Diospyros Ebenum; from India, of Diospyros melanoxylon and Diospyros Ebenaster; and that from Maurirituis Diospyros reticulata. The Diospyros Lotos is the Indian date-plum. It is by some supposed to have been the lotus-tree of the ancients, whose fruit was said to produce oblivion.
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Diphyllobothrium is a Cestoda, a giant tapeworm found in Scandinavia, Japan and parts of North America.
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Diphyodont is a term applied to those animals which develop two sets of teeth, a deciduous or milk set, and a permanent set - as distinct from the monophyodonts, which develop only one set. The majority of mammals are diphyodont, though the number of teeth replaced may vary: thus in man twenty teeth of the adult are preceded by a milk set; in the hare, the anterior incisors are not so preceded, but the posterior smaller incisors replace an earlier pair.
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Diplodinium is a member of the order of Oligotricha.
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Diplodocus was a dinosaur of the family Diplodocids or the late Jurassic period. Remains of Diplodocus were first discovered in the 19th century, with more skeletons discovered around 1900 in the western USA. Diplodocus was a herbivore, about 27 metres long with a long neck - formed from fifteen vertebrae - and a long tail that was whip-like at the end and formed of about 73 vertebrae. Diplodocus walked on four, pillar-like legs, the inner toes of which were furnished with long claws.
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The Diplopoda is the millipede order of myriapoda. They have an anterior genital posterior.
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The Dipnoi are an order of fishes, including only the singular mud-fishes (Lepidosiren), important as exhibiting the transition, between fishes and the amphibia. Formerly Lepidosiren was reckoned the lowest of the amphibia, now it constitutes the highest order of fishes. The body is fish-like in shape, covered with small horny scales of a cycloid character; the pectoral and ventral fins are represented by two pairs of long filiform organs; the heart has two auricles and one ventricle, and the respiratory organs are twofold, consisting of ordinary gills opening externally, and of true lungs - formed by the modified swimming-bladder - communicating with the oesophagus by means of an air-duct or trachea, whence the name. They are also called Protopteri. The combination of respiratory organs is similar to that which is presented by the tailed amphibians with persistent gills (perennibranchiate), as the axolotl. This interesting group is allied to the ganoids through the Ceratodus of Queensland. The Lepidosiren paradoxa is found in the Amazon; Lepidosiren annectens in the Gambia.
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The Dipper is a family of birds (Cinclidae) of the order Passeriformes. They are allied to the wrens and thrushes but are aquatic. The common dipper, water-ouzel, or water-crow (Cinclus aquaticus), is a familiar European bird; it is about 18 cm in length, with a very short tail, small rounded wings, and large powerful feet; the bill is of moderate length, straight, and slender. The male has the upper part of the body dark brown, the throat and breast white, belly rusty. The dipper frequents streams, and feeds largely on water-insects and larvae. It can dive and walk under water, effecting its progress by grasping the stones with its feet. The song is sweet and lively. Other species are found in Asia and America.
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Diprotodontia is the largest order of marsupials with ten families including 117 species. They are distinguished by having the second and third digits of the hind feet fully fused except for the claws and having a single pair of incisors dominating the lower jaw, although sometimes an additional pair is present.
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Dipsaceae is the teasel and scabious family of herbaceous, dicotyledonous family of plants found in temperate regions. They have flowers crowded together in heads like the Compositae, but differing in the rigid bracteoles which surround each. The leaves are usually opposite and without stipules.
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Dipsadinae is the 'American Snail-eating Snakes' subfamily of reptiles of the typical snakes family, Colubridae, suborder Serpentes (Snakes). The subfamily contains three genera and about 48 species found in South and Central America within rain forests and montane forests. The members vary in length from 25 to 90 cm, and are highly specialised with long front teeth which are used to extract snails from their shells.
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Dipsas is a genus of Asiatic and tropical American non-venomous snakes of the family Colubridae, of a very elongated form. With the ancients it was a snake whose bite was said to produce a mortal thirst.
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Diptera is an order of two-winged insects, of which the common house-fly and bluebottle are familiar examples. They are characterized by a body with slight coriaceous coverings, a trunk open beneath, and containing a sucker composed of two, four, or six-lancet-shaped elongated scales, two palpi, antennas almost always composed of three joints, large eyes, an abdomen of four to seven distinct segments, tarsi with five joints, and two short clubbed appendages called halteres or balancers, which seem to be the rudiments of the posterior pair in four-winged insects, and are kept in continual motion. All undergo complete metamorphosis, and all are oviparous except the Sarcophaga, which issue from their mother in shape of larvae; and the Pupipara, which first make their appearance as nymphs. The greater number live on the sap of flowers, but some feed on blood, others fasten on other animals to lick up their perspiration, their sores, or various secretions.
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Dipteraceae or Dipterocarpeae are an important order of Asiatic exogenous polypetalous trees, allied to the mallows (Malvaceae). The different species produce a number of resinous, oily, and other substances; one, a sort of camphor; another, a fragrant resin used in temples; and others, varnishes; while some of the commonest produce pitches, and sal, valuable timber.
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Dipterocarpaceae is a family of tropical trees which produce fragrant flowers.
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Dirhagus is a genus of false click beetle (Eucnemidae).
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Discoglossidae is the fire-bellied toads, painted frogs and midwife toads family of animals of the class Amphibia. The family is small and primitive, containing dome 11 species of varied appearances characterised by a disk-like tongue which cannot be extended beyond the lips. The members are found in Europe and Asia.
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Distoma is a genus of trematode or suctorial parasitical worms or flukes, inhabiting various parts in different animals. Distoma hepaticum, or common liver fluke, inhabits the gall-bladder or ducts of the liver in sheep, and is the cause of the disease known as the rot. They have also been discovered in man (though rarely), the horse, the pig, the rabbit, birds, etc. In form it is ovate, flattened, and presents two suckers (whence the name), of which the anterior is perforated by the aperture of the mouth. A branched water-vascular system is present. All the animals of this genus present the phenomenon known as 'alternation of generation'.
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Dittany is the popular name of the plants of the genus Dictamnus, a herb of the rue family (Rutaceae), found in the Mediterranean region. The leaves are pinnate, the large white or rose-coloured flowers are in terminal racemes. The whole plant is covered with oily glands, and the secreted oil is so volatile that in hot weather the air round the plant becomes inflammable. Dictamnus Fraxinella and Dictamnus albus are found in gardens. The dittany of the United States is Cunila Mariana, a labiate plant. The dittany of Crete is Origanum Dictamnus, and the bastard dittany is a species of Marrubium (horehound), both labiates.
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When referring to an animal, diurnal means that it is active during the day; the opposite of nocturnal.
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The Dixon's Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum dixoni) is an American species of Milk snake first described in 1983 and named after J R Dixon. The Dixon's Milk Snake has very broad black rings which almost eclipse the red in places, interspersed by bands of very pale yellow. The head and snout are black in colour, and the nape pale yellow.
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The Doberman Pinscher (or Dobermann) is an energetic breed of German working dog with a reputation as a fierce guard dog. They have a black, reddish, blue, or fawn coat which is short, smooth, glossy, and is usually highlighted with tan shadings. The ears are large, broad at the base and cropped to stand erect and pointed. The tail is docked to a stump and the eyes are brown and almond-shaped with a keen, always-alert expression. The adult dog stands about 70 centimetres at the shoulder and weighs about 30 kg. The breed originated in Apolda, Thuringia in about 1890 and takes its name from tax collector Louis Dobermann of Apolda, who used these dogs to aid him in his work.
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Dock is a name applied to different plants of the genus Rumex, belonging to the rhubarb family (Polygonaceae). These are large herbaceous plants, with stout roots, alternate and often entire leaves, and bearing panicles of small greenish flowers. They are very troublesome as weeds, but the roots of some of them are used medicinally as astringents.
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Dodder (Cuscuta) is a genus of parasitic plants belonging to the family Convolvulaceae, with branched, climbing, cord-like stems, no leaves, and globular heads of wax-like flowers. The seeds germinate in the ground, and the young plants climb the stems of the adjoining plants, and when they have taken root in them lose their connection with the ground. Dodders inhabit all the temperate and warmer regions of the globe. Two species are natives of England (Cuscuta europoea), with reddish stems and yellowish flowers, found on nettles, vetches, etc, and Cuscuta Epithymum found on furze, thyme, heather, clover, etc. Several exotic species have been introduced with cultivated seeds, as flax and clover.
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In botany, dodecandria is the twelfth class of Linnasus, comprising plants having twelve to eighteen stamens.
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The Dodo (Didus ineptus) was a huge, flightless bird of the pigeon order, Columbidae, formerly found in abundance only on the island of Mauritius. The Dodo had rudimentary wings, short, stout legs and a tail of soft plumage. The beak was strongly arched towards the end, and the upper mandible had a hooked point like that of a bird of prey. In 1644 when the island was first colonised by the Dutch the dodo was present in great numbers, but within forty years a combination of the loss of natural habitat to cyltivation and hunting for food led to the Dodo's extinction in the first and most famous ecological tragedy committed by Man.
In 2002 scientists at Oxford university, England extracted DNA from the only remaining Dodo tissue in existence and claimed to have discovered that the Dodo was a pigeon. However, this had already been known for at least 100 years, as evidenced by Lloyd's Encyclopaedia Dictionary, published in 1895 by Edward Lloyd Limited of London describes the dodo as 'A large bird, belonging to the order Columbidae, or Pigeons'.
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The Dog (Canis vulgaris) is a digitigrade, carnivorous animal, forming the type of the genus Canis, which includes also the wolf, the jackal, and, as a sub-genus, the fox. The origin of the dog is a much-debated question, some considering the breed derived from the wolf, an opinion which is based on resemblances of structure, the susceptibility which the wolf shows of being domesticated, the fact of the two animals breeding together and producing fertile young, and the equality in the period of gestation. But all those points are subject to exceptions and reservations which make the matter doubtful. It is generally agreed that no trace of the dog is to be found in a primitive state, the dhole of India, and dingo of Australia being believed to be wild descendants from domesticated ancestors.
Several attempts to make a systematic classification of the varieties of dogs have been made but without much success, it being difficult in many cases to determine what are to be regarded as types, and what as merely mongrels and cross-breeds. Colonel Hamilton Smith divided dogs into six groups as follows: (1) Wolf-dogs, including the Newfoundland, Esquimaux, St Bernard, shepherd's dog, etc; (2) Watchdogs and Cattle-dogs, including the German boar-hound, the Danish dog, the matin dog, etc; (3) Greyhounds, the lurcher, Irish hound, etc; (4) Hounds, the bloodhound, staghound, foxhound, setter, pointer, spaniel, cocker, poodle, etc; (5) Cur-dogs, including the terrier and its allies; (6) Mastiffs, including the different kinds of mastiffs, bull-dog, pug-dog, etc.
Dogs have in the upper jaw six incisors, two strong curved canines, and six molars on each side, the first three, which are small and have cutting edges, being called false molars; in the lower jaw are six incisors, two canines, and on each side seven molars. The fore-feet have five toes, the hind-feet four or five; the claws are strong, blunt, and formed for digging, and are not retractile. The tail is generally long, and is curled upwards. The female has six to ten mammae; she goes with young nine weeks as a rule. The young are born blind, their eyes opening in ten to twelve days; their growth ceases at two years of age. The dog commonly lives about ten or twelve years, at the most twenty.
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The dog rose (Rosa canina) is a deciduous shrub of the family Rosaceae, native to Britain and Europe, with arched, downward-curving branches, which are armed with stout hooked prickles. The leaves are odd pinnate with between five and seven ovate to elliptic, serrate, leaflets. The petioles and midribs often bear prickles. The flowers are stalked, usually fragrant, with large spreading white or pink coloured petals. The fruit consists of numerous hairy achenes enclosed in the enlarged, fleshy, flask-shaped, bright red receptacle.
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The Dog's Tooth Moth (Lacanobia suasa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 32 and 37 mm found in Europe, Asia and North America mostly in lowlands where it is often a significant pest. Two generations are produced flying from May to June and from August to September.
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The dog's tooth violet (Erythronium Americanum), or American adder's tongue is an American plant of the family Liliaceae. It is a beautiful early spring flower of the Lily family found in the eastern USA growing in damp, open woodlands from New Brunswick to Florida, and west as far as Ontario and Arkansas. The flower, which appears in April and May, is a handsome, large, pendulous, lily-like flower with the perianth divisions strongly recurved, bright yellow in colour, often tinged with purple and finely dotted within at the base, and bear six stamens.
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Dog's-cabbage or Dog-Cabbage (Thelygonum Cynocrambe) is a smooth succulent herb of the natural order Chenopodiaceae, found in the south of Europe, Though it is slightly acrid and purgative it is sometimes used as a pot herb.
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Dog's-fennel (Anthemis Cotula) is a British plant found in cultivated fields, with acrid, emetic properties. It derives its name of dog's-fennel from some resemblance of its leaf to fennel and from its bad smell.
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Dog's-mercury (Mercurialis perennis) is a herb of the natural order Euphorbiaceae, common in Britain. It has poisonous properties, and may be made to yield a fugitive blue dye.
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Dog's-tail Grass (Cynosurus) is a genus of grasses. Cynosurus cristatus is a perennial found wild all over Great Britain in pastures, lawns, and parks. Its roots are long and wiry, and descending deep into the ground ensure the herbage against suffering from drought. Its stem is from one to two feet high and its leaves are slightly hairy.
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Dog-bane (Apocynum androsaemifolium), is an American plant found from Canada to Carolina, belonging to the natural order Apocynaceae. The whole plant is milky; the root is intensely bitter and nauseous, and is employed in America instead of ipecacuanha. Another species (Apocynum cannabinum) yields a useful fibre, and is known as Canada or Indian hemp.
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Dog-lichen is the popular name of a plant, Peltidea canina, common on damp ground, stones, and trunks of trees. It was formerly supposed to be a specific for hydrophobia. Also known as Ash-coloured Ground Liverwort.
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Dogfish is a name given to several species of small shark, common around the British isles. The rough skin of one of the species (Scyllium catulus), the lesser-spotted dogfish, is used by joiners and other artificers in polishing various substances, particularly wood. This species is rarely one metre long. Scyllium canicula, the greater dog-fish, is in length from one to one and a half metres. It is blackish-brown in colour, marked with numerous small dark spots. Both species are very voracious and destructive. Their flesh is hard, dry, and unpalatable. The common or picked dogfish (Acanthias vulgaris) is common in British and North American seas, and is sometimes used as food. It is fierce and voracious.
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Dogwood is a common name of trees of the genus Cornus, but specifically applied in Britain to Cornus sanguinea. It is a common shrub in copses and hedges in England; the small cream-white flowers are borne in dense roundish clusters. The branchlets and leaves become red in autumn. The wood is used for skewers and for charcoal for gunpowder. The Cornus mascula is known as the cornel-tree. Cornus florida. and other American species are also called dogwood. The 'poison dogwood' of America is Rhus venenata, one of the sumachs.
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Dole is the collective noun for a group of turtles.
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The Dole Gudbrandsdal is an ancient breed of Norwegian heavy horse from the Gudbrandsdal Valley used for draught work. They grow to between 14 and 15 hands high, have a crested neck, strong, powerful shoulders and quarters and are inclined towards a long back. They occur in black, brown and bay colours.
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The Dole Trotter is a breed of Norwegian heavy horse, similar to and related to the Dole Gudbrandsdal, but lighter and taller. Unlike the Dole Gudbrandsdal, the
Dole Trotter is not used for draught work but more for pulling light transport and racing.
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Dolichos is a genus of twining, leguminous plants of the sub-order Papilionaceae, mostly natives of tropical countries, where many of the species yield edible seeds, for example the soy bean. Dolichos sesquipedalis, which is also grown in the south of France, has pods a foot in length and containing seven to ten kidney-shaped seeds. Dolichos lignosus is one of the most common kidney beans in India. Dolichos tuberosus of Martinique has a fleshy tuberous root which is an article of food.
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The Dolphin (formerly also known as a sea-goose) is a genus of cetaceans. The flesh is coarse, rank, and disagreeable, but is used by the Laplanders as food. Dolphins live on fish, mollusca, etc, and often may be seen in numbers round shoals of herring. The animal has to come to the surface at short intervals to breathe. The blow-hole is of a semilunar form, with a kind of valvular apparatus, and opens on the vertex, nearly over the eyes. The structure of the ear renders the sense of hearing very acute, and the animal is observed to be attracted by regular or harmonious sounds. One or two young are produced by the female, who suckles and watches them with great care and anxiety, long after they have acquired considerable size. Compactness and strength are the characteristics of the genus. Dolphins are renowned for being highly intelligent and friendly towards swimmers and ships.
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The Don is a Russian breed of horse from the Steppes around the River Don in Russia. The Don stands between 15.2 and 16.2 hands high and is mostly chestnut or brown in colour. The breed evolved during the 18th and 19th centuries and were bred for the cavalry to be used as riding and harness horses.
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Donacia is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) represented by fifteen British species, living on aquatic plants.
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Donax (Arundo donax)is a species of grass or reed inhabiting the southern parts of Europe; it grows to a great height and was formerly used for fishing-rods, etc.
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Donus is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) that live on coltsfoot.
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Dopping is the collective noun for a group of sheldrakes.
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The Dor Beetle (Geotrupes) is a genus of large dung beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. They dig a burrow under a pile of dung and carry the dung down into it before laying their eggs.
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Dorcadion is a large genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), with over 350 species, all wingless and therefore flightless.
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Dorcatoma is a genus of beetle of the family Anobiidae. They are oval, usually black, rather shiny beetles with a convex body. The last three segments of their antennae are large and serrate. They live mainly in fungi on deciduous trees.
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Dorcus is the lesser stag beetle genus of beetles of the family Lucanidae. They grow to three centimetres in length, and the males have a particularly large, wide head.
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Dorema is a genus of plants of the family Umbelliferae. Dorema ammoniacum, ain Iraqi species, yields the ammoniacum of commerce, a milky juice that exudes from punctures on the stem and dries in little 'tears.'
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The Dorking is a breed of chicken.
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Dormouse (Myoxus) is a genus of mammiferous quadrupeds, of the order Rodentia. These little animals, which appear to be intermediate between the squirrels and the mice, inhabit temperate and warm countries, and subsist entirely on vegetable food. Their pace is a kind of leap, but they have not the activity of squirrels. Whilst feeding they sit upright and carry the food to their mouth with their paws. The dormice pass the winter in a lethargic or torpid state, reviving only for a short time on a warm sunny day, when they take a little of their hoarded stores and then relapse into the dormant state. One species (Myoxus avellanarius) is found in Britain, though it is in danger of extinction.
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The dorse, or Baltic Cod (Morrhua Callarius) is a fish of the cod genus.
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The Dorset Horn is a British breed of domestic sheep renowned for their unique ability to lamb naturally at any time of the year. The Dorset Horn evolved from cross breeding of Spanish sheep with the native English stock during the 16th century producing the Portland, and the modern breed evolved in 1707 from crossing the Potland with the Southdown to produce the Dorset Horn. The
Dorset Horn is bred for meat and wool, producing lean meat with a low proportion of bone in fast growing lambs and high quality fleeces. The Dorset Horn is a large sheep, white in colour with a tan-coloured face. The horns are long, curving downward in a circular pattern and then upwards, creating almost a full circle. In the USA Polled or hornless strains of the Dorset Horn were developed by North Carolina State University in the early 1950's and in the USA these have gradually been replacing the horned varieties.
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Dorsetenia is a genus of plants of the natural order Urticaceae or nettles, found in tropical America. They have their naked flowers buried in a flat, fleshy, somewhat concave receptacle. Dorsetenia Contrayerva and other species have a stimulant and tonic rhizome, which was formerly used medicinally under the name of contrayerva.
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The Dory or John Dory (Zeus faber),is a fish belonging to the mackerel family, celebrated for the delicacy of ita flesh. It seldom exceeds 45 cm in length, and is yellowish-green in colour with a blackish spot on each side, which, according to an old superstition, is the mark of St Peter's forefinger and thumb. The dory is found on the Atlantic shores of Europe and in the Mediterranean, The name John Dory is supposed to be derived from the French jaune dorw, golden yellow.
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Dorytomus is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) that live on willows, poplars and birches.
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The Dot Moth (Melanchra persicariae) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 37 and 40 mm mainly found in the mild zone of the Palaearctic region where a single generation flies from May to August.
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The Dotted Border (Agriopis marginaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 27 and 32 mm found in forests across Europe, particularly oak forests, flying from February to April or May.
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The Dotted Chestnut (Conistra rubiginea) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found throughout the Palaearctic sub region, emerging in September and hibernating over winter.
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The Dotted Clay (Xestia baja) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of 35 to 40 mm found in forests where a single generation flies from July to August.
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The dotterel (Charadrius morinellus) is a bird of the Plover family, Charadridae, which breeds in the north of Europe, and returns to the south for the winter. In Scotland it appears in April and leaves in August, the young being-hatched in July, but comparatively few breed in the British Islands. It is found all over Europe and Northern Asia. The dotterel is about 20 cm long. It was for a long time highly esteemed for eating.
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The Double Dart (Graphiphora augur) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span measuring from 35 to 42 mm, found in Europe, Asia and North America. A single generation is produced which flies from June until the start of August.
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The Double Line (Mythimna turca) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 37 and 45 mm distributed throughout the temperate zone of the Palaearctic. It produces a single generation that flies from June to August.
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The Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is a medium sized, long necked American bird of the order Natatores, family Pelecanidae, with a long, slender hooked bill, dark brown to blackish body with lighter chest and throat. It feeds on fish by diving from the surface. It is a common permanent resident along the California Pacific Coast in offshore waters, estuaries, bays and harbour and is fairly common on inland rivers, lakes, and the Salton Sea.
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The Doum Palm (Hyphoene thebaica) is a species of palm tree. It is remarkable, like the other species of the genus, for having a repeatedly-branched stem. Each branch terminates in a tuft of large fan-shaped leaves. The fruit is about the size of an apple; it has a fibrous mealy rind, which tastes like gingerbread (whence the name gingerbread tree sometimes applied to this palm), and is eaten by the poorer inhabitants of Upper Egypt, where it grows. An infusion of the rind is also used as a cooling beverage in fevers. The seed is horny, and is made into small ornaments. Ropes are made of the fibres of the leaf-stalks.
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Dout is the collective noun for a group of wild cats.
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The dove is a bird of the family Columbidae (pigeon).
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Down is the collective noun for a group of hares.
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Downy hempnettle (Galeopsis segetum) is a west European annual herb of the family Labiate with an erect, branched, square stem and opposite, ovate to lanceolate and serrate leaves from whose axils pale-yellow flowers grow arranged in whorls. The corolla is two-lipped, the upper lip helmet-shaped and the lower lip with three spreading lobes. The fruit consists of four one seeded nutlets.
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Doylt is the collective noun for a group of domestic swine.
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The Drab Looper (Minoa murinata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 14 and 18 mm found in central and southern Europe, western and central Asia mainly in hilly areas, flying from April to September.
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Dracaena is a genus of tropical endogenous evergreen woody plants belonging to the family Liliaceae, and characterized by their broad leaves and their heads of greenish white salver-shaped flowers. The genus includes the dragon-tree Dracaena Draco), celebrated for producing the resin called dragon's blood. Several species of Dracaena are cultivated in greenhouses for the beauty of their foliage, but many of the fine plants known by this name belong strictly to other genera.
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Dracocephalum ('dragon's head'), is a genus of odoriferous annual and perennial herbs, of the natural order Labiatae, mostly found in the north of Asia, Europe, and America. The most generally cultivated species is Dracocephalum canariense, or Canary balm of Gilead.
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Dracunculus is a genus of plants of the natural order Araceae, with a long spotted stalk. They are natives of South Europe. Dracunculus vulgaris (green dragon) is common in English gardens. Its flowers are black, very fetid, and give out exhalations which produce headache, giddiness, and vomiting.
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Dragon-fly is a family (Libellulidae) of neuropterous insects. They have a large head, large eyes, and strong horny mandibles. They are beautiful in form and colour, and are of very powerful flight. The great dragon-fly (AEshna grandis) is about 10 cm long, and the largest of the British species. They live on insects, and are remarkable for their voracity. The dragon-fly deposits its eggs in the water, where the larvae and pupae live on aquatic insects. The larval stage lasts for a year. The family is of very wide distribution. The email blue Agrion is a common European form. But the familiar Libellula is the most extensively distributed.
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Dragon-Lizard is a name for several species of lizards inhabiting Asia, Africa, and South America. The common flying lizard (Draco volans), the best type of the genus, is about 25 cm in length, the tail being extremely long in proportion to the body. The sides are furnished with peculiar extensions of the skin, forming a kind of wings, which help to support it in the air when it springs from branch to branch. Its food consists almost exclusively of insects.
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The Dragon-tree (Dracoena Draco) is a tree-like liliaceous plant, with a stem simple or divided at top, and in old age often much branched. It is a native of the Canaries, and yields the resin known as dragon's blood. It is often grown in stoves and greenhouses.
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Dragonet is a common name of certain fishes of the Goby family. The gemmeous dragonet (Callionymus Lyra) is found in the British seas.
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Dravidosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Remains of Dravidosaurus were discovered in the later half of the 20th century in India. It was a herbivore of the Stegosaurus family, about three metres long with armour plates on its back and spines bulging halfway up down the spine.
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Dreissena is a genus of lamellibranchiate molluscs allied to the mussels, One species Dreissena polymorpha is a native of the streams which flow into the Caspian, but was accidentally introduced into most rivers and estuaries of Europe, including those of Britain, where it is now abundant.
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Drepanidae is the hook-tips family of moths. The members are small to medium sized nocturnal moths with broad, usually falcate wings. The proboscis is short or absent. The antennae are short, pectinate with shorter rami, or serrate. There are about 400 species in the family.
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A drey (also spelt dray) is a squirrel's nest.
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Drift is the collective noun for a group of swine.
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Drilidae is a family of beetles whose male members have fully developed wings and elytra, and female members are like larvae - wingless, with short legs, antennae and a small head. The males frequent flowers while the females are to be found in damp hidden spots, under stones and in snail shells.
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The drill (Cynocephalus leucophoeus) is a species of baboon closely allied to the mandrill, but smaller and less fierce. Like the mandrill it inhabits west Africa and differs chiefly in the absence of the brilliant colours which mark the mandrill's face. The face and ears are bare and of a glossy black colour, the palms of the hands and soles of the feet are also naked and of a deep copper colour.
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Drilus is a genus of beetle of the family Drilidae. The males are much smaller than the females, about four to eight millimetres long compared to the female being fifteen millimetres long.
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The Drinker Moth (Philudoria potatoria) is a rare moth of the family Lasiocampidae with a wing span of between 45 and 65 mm found throughout the temperate Palaearctic in warm grassy localities flying from June to August
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Dromaeosaurus was a small dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Remains of
Dromaeosaurus were first discovered in 1914 at Red Deer River in Canada. It was a carnivore, about 1,8 metres long, and walked on its hindlegs the foot of which was equipped with a special sharp claw.
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A dromedary is a type of Arabian camel, distingushed by having a single hump. The dromedary was originally a native of Arabia, and spread to all of North Africa and Syria. The dromedary is best suited for long journeys, being the lighter, swifter and most enduring of the camel species.
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The Dromiceidae are a family of the order Casuariformes. These are the emus. They are found only in Australia and Tasmania. It is incapable of flight.
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Dromius is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, of which twelve species live in Britain. Many of the species live in trees, under loose bark during the day, hunting by night.
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A drone is a mature male bee which are produced at the same time as a virgin queen for the purpose of continuing the community.
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Droseraceae is a natural order of albuminous plants, mostly perennial bog plants, whose flowers are composed of five sepals, five petals, five, ten, fifteen or twenty stamens, and a single ovary. The leaves are usually covered with glands or glandular hairs. It contains six genera, including the sundew (Drosera), and Venus fly-trap (Dioncca). They have no known qualities except that they are slightly bitter. The leaves are generally circinnate in the bud, as in ferns.
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The droughtmaster is an Australian red breed of domestic beef cattle.
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Drove is the collective noun for a group of donkeys.
Drove is the collective noun for a group of cattle.
Drove is the collective noun for a group of pigs.
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A drupe is a fleshy fruit formed from a monocarpellary or syncarpous gynaecium, containing one or more seeds each of which is enclosed by a hard, stony portion of the pericarp at dispersal. The fruit of the raspberry is a
drupe, for example.
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Drusilla (formerly Astilbus) is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. They have short elytra and are unable to fly.
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Dry Rot is a name given to the fungus Merulius lacrymans which attacks wood in houses. The name derives from the dry appearance of the wood after decay.
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The Dryad (Minois dryas) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in temperate Europe and across Asia to Japan.
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Dryandra, named after the Swedish naturalist Jonas Dryander, is a large genus of Australian shrubs, with hard, dry, evergreen, generally serrated leaves, and compact cylindrical clusters of yellow flowers, of the natural order Proteaceae. The species are esteemed by cultivators for the variety and peculiar forms of their leaves.
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Dryet is the collective noun for a group of swine.
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Dryocoetes is a genus of beetle of the family Scolytidae.
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Dryophilus is a genus of small beetle of the family Anobiidae.
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Dryophis, or whip-snake, is a genus of Indian snakes, remarkable for their very slender and much-elongated bodies, which are adapted for climbing about the branches of the trees among which they live.
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Dryopidae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera, divided into two groups or subfamilies: dryopids proper and elmids. They all have strikingly long limbs with two large claws. The beetles spend much of their time under water.
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is a genus of beetle of the family Dryopidae. It breathes under water air carried there trapped by the close-set hairs covering the beetle's body.
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Dryosaurus was a small dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Dryosaurus was related to Hypsilophodon, but was larger at between three and four metres long. Dryosaurus is believed to have been a herbivore. It walked on its hind legs and had hands on the ends of its fore legs which it might have used to gather plants to eat. Its mouth was furnished with sharp ridged cheek teeth, and fleshy cheeks where it could store food while chewing. Remains of Dryosaurus have been found in Africa and North America.
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Dryptosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. A carnivore, it was about 6 metres long and walked on its hind legs and there were at least twelve species, but little else is known about it. Only one skeleton of Dryptosaurus has been found, that was found in North America in 1866. Other remains have been found across North America.
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Duck is the name common to all the web-footed birds constituting the Linnaean genus Anas, now raised into a sub-family Anatinae, and by some naturalists divided into two sub-families Anatinae and Fuligulinas, or land-ducks and sea-ducks. The ducks are very numerous as species, and are met with all over the world. They are often migratory, going northward in summer to their breeding-places. Their food is partly vegetable, partly animal.
The common mallard or wild-duck (Anas Boschas) is the original of the domestic duck. In its wild state the male is characterized by the deep green of the plumage, of the head and neck, by a white collar separating the green from the dark chestnut of the lower part of the neck, and by having the four middle feathers of the tail recurved.
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The duck-billed platypus or duck-mole or duck-bill (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a curious mammal of the order Ornithorhynchidae, confined to south and east Australia and Tasmania. The animals are aquatic in their habits, forming their burrows in the banks of the creeks they inhabit. The burrows usually have two entrances, one above and one below the water level, and of great length, sometimes as much as 15 metres. They end in a small chamber in which the eggs are hatched and the young reared. The adult male reaches a length of about 45 cm, and is distinguished from the female by the presence of a horny spur on the hind foot, which is connected with a poison gland. In both sexes the body is oval and flattened, and covered with dense short fur. There is no visible external ear and the eyes are small. The muzzle is flat and broad and is covered by a dark-coloured beak, which is hairless and closely resembles the bill of a duck. The limbs are short and are webbed at the extremities, but the web can be folded back to reveal five powerful
claws used for burrowing. The tail is short, but flat and broad. Teeth are present in both jaws of the young, but soon disappear and are replaced by a series of horny plates which are used to masticate the food which is obtained by sifting through the mud with the bill.
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Duckweed is the popular name of several species of plants of the genus Lemna, natural order Lemnaceae. The plants grow in ditches and shallow water, floating on the surface, and serving for food for ducks and geese. Five species are known in Britain, and others are common in America. They consist of small fronds bearing naked unisexual flowers. Common duckweed (Lemna minor) is a minute floating plant, often so abundant as to cover the surface of stagnant water, where, with the insects it harbours, it is greedily devoured by ducks.
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The dugong or fork-tailed sea cow (Halicore dugong) is a herbivorous marine mammal of the order Sirenia closely related to the manatee, found in the Indian Ocean from east Africa to west Australia, discovered by Muller in 1776. It never come on land, and subsists on seaweed and sea grasses. The dugong possesses a tapering body ending in a crescent-shaped fin, and is said sometimes to attain a length of 20 feet, though generally it is about 7 or 8 feet in length. The skin is thick and smooth, with a few scattered bristles; the colour bluish above and white beneath and may be recognised from the manatee by the front of the snout strongly curved downwards, the upper lip less deeply cleft and a two-lobed tail fin. The dugong was traditionally hunted by the Malays for its flesh, which resembles young beef, and is tender and palatable. A variety was discovered in the Red Sea by Ruppell, and called Halicore tabernaculi.
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The duiker or duyker (formerly known as the duykerbok) are a large group of African antelopes distinguished by the linear arrangement of the pores of the facial gland. The forehead is usually tufted between the horns, which are short and smooth. Many species are known, varying in size from a fox to a sheep, and the name is derived from their habit of diving under cover when alarmed.
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The Duke of Burgundy Fritillary is a species of small butterfly of the metalmarks family (Riodinidae) found in open woods and meadows at low or moderate elevations across central and southern Europe from Spain to central Russia.
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Dukhn is a kind of millet (Holcus spicatus or Pennisetum typhoideum), extensively cultivated in Egypt, also in Spain and elsewhere.
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The Dulmen is the last surviving native German breed of pony formerly wild across Westphalia, but now much reduced. the Dulmen is usually good natured, but spirited. They stand 12 to 13 hands high, and are dun, black, brown or chestnut in colour.
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Dulse (Rhodomenia palmata) is an edible seaweed with leathery purple leaves, found on rocky coasts. It has a reddish-brown, or purple, leathery, veinless frond, several inches long, and is found at low water adhering to the rocks. It is an important plant to the Icelanders, and is stored by them in casks to be eaten with fish. In Kamtchatka a fermented liquor is made from it. In the south of England the name is given to the Iridoea edulis, also an edible sea-weed.
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Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia seguina) is a West Indian plant reaching roughly two metres in height and bearing large, ovate, green leaves with white markings. It is so called from its acridity causing swelling of the tongue when chewed, and destroying the power of speech.
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The Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 25 and 33 mm found in the non-polar regions of the Palaearctic in areas with trees, the predacious caterpillars living on oak, hornbeam, birch and similar deciduous trees where they often attack other caterpillars. A single generation flies from June to September.
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The dung-beetle or dor-beetle (Geotrupes stercorarius) is a handsome beetle with fine metallic tints. It is one of the lamellicorn beetles, and feeds on dung, and in it lay its eggs.
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The Dunlin (Calidris alpina or Tringa variaibilis) is a British water bird of the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. It lives on sandy shores where it feeds on insects and larvae, sandhoppers, sandworms and small crustaceans and swims as well as wades in search of food. It is about 20 cm in length from the point of the bill to the extremity of the tail, and its plumage undergoes marked variations in summer and winter, the back passing from black with reddish edges to each feather, to an ashen gray, and the breast from mottled black to pure white. The American Tringa alpina is a frequent visitor to Scotland, and there is some ground for believing that these large birds are only varieties of the dunlin.
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In botany, duramen is the name given to the central wood or heart-wood in the trunk of an exogenous tree. It is more solid than the newer wood that surrounds it, from the formation of secondary layers of cellulose in the wood cells.
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Durian or Durion (Durio zibethinus) is a large and lofty tree growing in the Malayan Archipelago. The largish flowers, of a yellow-green colour, are produced on the stem or main branches, and are followed by the large fetid fruit, which is of the size of a man's head, and is a favourite food of the natives during May and June when it is in season. There is usually a second crop in November. The smell is offensive, like putrid animal matter, but with this is associated the most delicious flavour, which places it, notwithstanding the odour, in the opinion of many, in the foremost place among tropical fruits.
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Durmast is a species of oak, Quercus sessiliflora, or according to some, Quercus pubescens, so closely allied to the common oak (Quercus robur) as to be reckoned only a variety of it. Its wood is, however, darker, heavier, and more elastic, less easy to split, not so easy to break, yet the least difficult to bend. It is highly
valued, therefore, by the cabinetmaker and formerly also by builders.
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The Duroc is an eastern American breed of pig. They have considerable variation in colour. An acceptable colour may range from a very light golden, almost yellow colour, to a very dark red that approaches mahogany. The red is a very practical colour that suits pork producers, and since it is a solid colour there is not concern about fancy points of proper markings.
Durocs have a medium length and slight dish of the face. The ears should be drooping and should not be held erect.
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Durra is a genus of coarse, strong grasses cultivated in Asia and Southern Europe. The genus encompasses the most important African corn plants. Durra is mostly a broad leaved annual, growing from four to eight inches in height, with long panicles and strong culms containing a sweet juicy pith.
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The Dusky Clearwing (Paranthrene tabaniformis) is a diurnal moth of the clearwing family (Sesiidae) with a wing span of between 25 and 40 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from May to August. The caterpillar lives for two years in poplar wood.
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The Dusky Large Blue (Maculinea nausithous) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in a narrow belt across central Europe and to the Ural mountains in swampy meadows. The caterpillars live on wild burnet, moving to anthills when they are older.
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The Dusky Meadow Brown (Hyponephele lycaon) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae. It has a wing span of about 40 mm and is found in temperate Europe and western Asia in dry, grassy localities, favouring those with a sandy substrate.
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The dusky shrew (Sorex isodon) is a bi-coloured shrew, although the underside appears almost as dark as the upper body. It has broad front feet and uni-cuspid teeth that decrease evenly in size from front to back.
Dusky shrews prefer a wet coniferous forest to live in where they feed on insects, earthworms, spiders, myriapods and small vertebrates including frogs. Dusky shrews are found in Sweden, through Finland and into Russia with a few found scattered throughout the rest of Europe.
Research Dusky Shrew
The Dusky Slug (Arion subfuscus) is a British slug, about seven centimetres long, found chiefly in hedgerows.
Research Dusky Slug
The Dusky Thorn (Ennomos fuscantaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 35 and 40 mm found in Central and Northern Europe in deciduous woods flying from July to September.
Research Dusky Thorn
The Dutch Heavy Draft is a breed of Dutch heavy horse, standing 16.3 hands high and chestnut, bay or grey in colour, developed in 1918. The Dutch Heavy Draft was developed for agricultural work.
Research Dutch Heavy Draft
Dutch Rush (Equisetum hyemale) is one of the plants known as horse-tails, with a firm texture and so large an amount of silex in the cuticle that it was formerly employed as a fine sand-paper for polishing delicate woodwork. The plant is found in marshes and woods in Britain, but for economical use it was imported from Holland, whence its popular name.
Research Dutch Rush
The Dutch Warmblood is a Dutch breed of versatile horse, good for riding and jumping. The Dutch Warmblood stands between 15.3 and 16.3 hands high and is bay, grey, chestnut or black in colour.
Research Dutch Warmblood
Dwarf birch (Betula nana) is a small deciduous shrub, usually prostrate or ascending with stiff, spreading branches. The leaves are rounded, deeply toothed and dark green. The flowers are small male and female catkins.
Research Dwarf Birch
The Dwarf Buffalo or bush-cow is an African variety of buffalo, red in colouration, standing about one metre tall and inhabiting the Congo forest.
Research Dwarf Buffalo
Dwarf Elder (Sambucus Ebulus), also known as Danewort, Walewort and Blood Hilder is a herbaceous plant of the family Caprifoliaceae, seldom exceeding one metre in height and dying back to the ground each year and spreading by underground shoots from the creeping root. It bears a close resemblance to the common elder tree in leaf, flower and subsequent berry, but it is not woody and the leaves are distinguished by having a stipule at the base of the finely-toothed leaflets, which are more numerous than those of the common elder, usually seven in number, larger and narrower and sometimes lobed. The flowers are whiter than those of the common elder, the corollas splashed with crimson on the outside and having dark red anthers. The flowers are in bloom in July and August, and have a less aromatic smell than the common elder. The fruit is a reddish-purple berry. Dwarf elder is common in areas of waste land, and is often found growing in the foundations of ruined buildings. Its old names of Danewort and Walewort are traceable to
a belief that it sprang from the blood of slain Danes, because it grows near Slaughterford in Wiltshire and that was the sight of a great Danish battle. Another theory is that it was brought to England by the Danes and planted on the graves of their slain kinsfolk.
Research Dwarf Elder
Dwarf milkwort (Polygala amara) or bitter milkwort, is a perennial herb of the family Polygalaceae, native to Europe, occurring chiefly in central Europe, with a branched rhizome and a short, erect or ascending stem, woody at the base, which bears small lanceolate leaves. The larger obovate to elliptic basal leaves are arranged in a dense rosette. The flowers are blue in colour and arranged in a terminal raceme. The two inner sepals are petal- like and much larger than the three outer ones and are arranged on either side of the three true petals, which are joined at the base, the largest and lower one keeled and fringed. The fruit is a two-seeded heart-shaped capsule.
Research Dwarf Milkwort
Dwarf Red is a small variety of banana with a maroon skin and orange flesh.
Research Dwarf Red
Dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) is a dwarf creeping shrub of the family Salicaceae, with a long underground stem, but few aerial branches, often forming large patches. The leaves are bright green and shiny with conspicuous veins and are borne on short branches. The flowers are borne in small catkins, the male and female flowers on different plants.
Research Dwarf Willow
Dyer's Broom (Genista tinctoria) is a type of broom which yields a yellow colour used in dyeing.
Research Dyer's Broom
Dyer's greenweed (Genista tinctoria) is a small deciduous spineless shrub of the family Leguminosae, with a creeping woody rhizome and erect or ascending smooth, green stems. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate and almost sessile. The flowers are yellow and arranged in terminal leafy racemes. The fruit is a long, flat hairless pod.
Research Dyer's Greenweed
Dyoplosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. A large herbivore of the Ankylosaur family, Dyoplosaurus walked on all-fours, was about 6 metres long and had the last ten bones of the tail fused together and strengthened by tendons. At the end of the tail was a club formed of four fused together bones. Remains of Dyoplosaurus were found in Red Deer-River, Alberta, Canada at the start of the 20th century.
Research Dyoplosaurus
Dyschirius is a genus of over thirty (eleven occurring in Britain) species of beetles of the family Carabidae, subfamily Scaritinae. They are the smallest members of the Scaritinae subfamily, being only between two and four millimetres long, with colouring varying from black to light brown, some with a metallic lustre. Their principal food are the rove beetles of the genus Bledius.
Research Dyschirius
Dysdera is a genus of spider. A British species - Dysdera crocata - has enormous opposable fangs which it uses to kill its woodlouse prey.
Research Dysdera
Dytiscidae is the predacious diving beetle family of insects of the order Coleoptera, with over 100 species found in Britain. They have modified hind- legs adapted for use as paddles and covered with long hairs and a streamlined body. They are excellent at flying and can move to new water as required. They carry air beneath the elytra, and use this to breathe while diving under the surface. Both the adults and larvae are strictly predacious.
Research Dytiscidae
Dytiscus is a genus of large (36 to 44 mm in length) predacious diving beetles of the family Dytiscidae represented by six species in Britain. They are dark brown, often with an olive-green reflection, and have a yellow marginal stripe. On the first pair of tarsi the male have one large, one smaller and a number of smaller still suction discs. Both larva and adult are aquatic, the latter diving and swimming with great speed. They are actively carnivorous and are dangerous even to small fish owing to their strong jaws. Swimming is effected by powerful posterior legs which are compressed and hairy forming oars. Air is carried in a space between the wing-covers and the body, and refilled by the beetle rising to the surface. The beetles possess wings which are used to journey from one pool to another.
Research Dytiscus
The Dzeren, Dzeron or Chinese antelope (Procapra gutturosa) is a remarkably swift species of antelope inhabiting the dry arid deserts of Central Asia, Tibet, China, and Southern Siberia. It is about 130 cm in length, and 76 cm high at the shoulder.
Research Dzeren
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