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The La Fleche is a breed of chicken.
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The labba is an edible Guinea Pig eaten in South America.
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In botany, the labellum is the part of the corolla of certain plants, especially orchids, that forms a distinct, often lobed, lip.
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Lablab is a genus of leguminous plants. Lablab purpureus is grown as a pulse and animal fodder in India, Egypt and other tropical countries where its is known as bonavist, the Egyptian bean, and the hyacinth bean.
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Labour is the collective noun for a group of moles.
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The Labrador retriever is a breed of dog originating in Newfoundland and brought to Britain by fishermen in the early 19th century. It is about 56 centimetres high, with a tapering tail and a short dense water-resistant coat, usually black or yellow-brown. They are affectionate playful dogs popular as pets with families with children for their gentle, trustworthy, affectionate and fun-loving nature.
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Laburnum is a highly poisonous deciduous shrub or small tree of the family Leguminosae with smooth greyish-green bark and trifoliate, long-stalked leaves which are dark-green and glabrous above, paler and felted below. The flowers are yellow and arranged in long drooping racemes. The fruit is a brown pod containing black seeds, which contain the highly toxic alkaloid cytisine.
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Laccobius is a genus of water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae. There are nine species occurring in Britain, all similar with a short oval and almost hemispherical body and yellow legs.
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Laccophilus is a genus of predacious diving beetles of the family Dytiscidae. Three species occur in Britain. They are mostly olive-brown in colour and have a characteristic way of jumping about when out of water.
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The Lace Border (Scpula ornata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 18 and 25 mm found in temperate Europe and Asia flying from May to September in two or three generations.
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Lacertilia is a suborder of squamata. These are the lizards. Limbs are usually present, and traces of a girdle are always present, even in the limbless species.
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The Lackey Moth (Malacosoma neustria) is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae with a wing span of between 25 and 35 mm found throughout Europe and Asia mainly in sparse deciduous forests and forest-steppes. A single generation is produced flying from June to August.
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Lactuca is a genus of plants belonging to the family Compositae. They are mostly natives of temperate regions, the most important species being
Lactuca sativa, the common lettuce.
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Lady Finger is a small, thin skinned variety of banana, also called 'Baby Bananas'.
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Lady's bedstraw (Galium verum) is a perennial herb of the family Rubiaceae with a creeping rhizome and decumbent or erect branched square stems. the leaves are linear and arranged in whorls of eight to twelve and have turned- under margins, a prominent midrib and are dark green and shiny above, pale and felted below. The flowers are small, bright-yellow and arranged in dense terminal panicles. The fruit is a smooth double achene, green at first and changing to black when dry.
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Lady's Mantle is the popular name for the common species of alchemilla. The term 'Lady' refers to the Virgin Mary to whom the plant was dedicated.
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Lady's slipper is a popular name for orchids of the genus Cypripedium, especially the native British species, Cypripedium calceolus which is sometimes found in woods in northern England. The name occurs because of the inflated lip of the plant's corolla.
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Lady's smock or cuckoo-flower is a popular name for Cardamine pratensis, a common meadow plant bearing pale lilac cruciferous flowers in May. It has pinnate leaves, and the flowers are followed by long pods or siliquas, opening by two valves.
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Ladybird is the popular name for beetles of the family Coccinellidae. There are many species, over forty in Britain alone, and they vary in colouration from yellow to black. Most are predacious, feeding on plant-sucking insects, especially aphids. When in danger they feign death and may release a foul smelling fluid from an opening between their femur and tibia.
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The Ladybird Spider is the rarest of Britain's 450 species of spider. It is so named on account of the adult male having a scarlet back with four black spots, resembling a ladybird. The head is black, the legs are black with white stripes. The Ladybird Spider lives in heather heathland where it builds a web across a vertical shaft in which it lives. Approaching beetles trigger trip wires or walk over the web and the spider pounces, biting them with quick acting toxin and then eats its prey. The Ladybird Spider was thought to be extinct in the 1920's, but was rediscovered in the 1980's in the south of England.
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The Laekenois is a breed of Belgian shepherd dog developed in Antwerp to guard linen that was left to bleach in the sun. The Laekenois is similar to the Groenendael, but fawn in colour with black markings on the face.
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Lagartos was the original English name for what Ben Jonson later called the alligator.
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Lagomorpha is an order of Eutheria having two pairs of upper incisors - the second pair of upper incisors immediately behind the first pair - specialized for gnawing. The order includes pikas, rabbits, and hares.
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Lagria is a genus of beetle of the family Lagriidae, with two species of which Lagria hirta is the more common.
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Lagriidae is a family of beetles of the order Coleoptera, with just three species in two genera. They mostly have a thick hairy coat.
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Lagunaria is a genus of evergreen tropical Australasian trees belonging to the family Malvaceae.
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The Lakeland terrier is a wire-haired breed of terrier dog, originally from the Lake District and used for hunting.
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The Lakenfelder is a breed of chicken.
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A lamb is a young sheep. A young female sheep is called a ewe lamb, a young male sheep a tup lamb.
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Lambeosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Lambeosaurus was a crested, duck-billed dinosaur with a squarish forward-pointing crest and a long rearward facing spine on top of its head. Lambeosaurus was a large dinosaur, about 15 meters long and able to walk on its hind legs or all fours.
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A lamella is a thin plate, scale or film of bone or tissue.
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Lamellibranchiata (Conchifera) is a class of Phylum Mollusca. They are the mussels, oysters, scallops etc. The head is reduced and the mantle encloses the body and secretes a bivalved shell.
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Lamia is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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The lamina is the blade on the leaf on either side of the midrib on flowering plants. It is usually the primary organ of photosynthesis.
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Laminarieae is a group of Algae belonging to the Phaeosporeae, a subdivision of the Phaeosphyceae, or brown seaweeds.
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The Lampern or River Lamprey (Lampreta fluviatilis) is a European fish of the family Petromyzonidae. The Lampern is serpentine in shape, growing to about 40 cm in length, with a dark bluish grey or greyish green back and sides and a silvery white belly. Lamperns are found in the coastal waters of western Europe and Scandinavia migrating up European rivers to breed. The Lampern feeds on the blood and flesh of small fish, attaching itself to them with its sucker-like mouth and drinking blood which is prevented from clotting by secretions from glands in the mouth.
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Lampra is a rare genus of jewel beetle (Buprestidae).
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The lamprey is a member of the cyclostomi subclass.
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Lamprohiza is a European genus of glow-worm, about ten millimetres in length.
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Lamprosoma is a genus of rare leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae).
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Lampyris is a European genus of glow-worm, ranging from ten to twenty millimetres in length.
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In botany, the term lanceolate is applied to leaves which are broadest at the base and taper at the end like a lance or spear.
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The Landais is a breed of French pony standing between 11 and 13 hands high, and occurring in black, bay, brown or chestnut colours. The Landais is a gentle and placid breed used for riding and light draft work.
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The langur is any of the Asian and East Indian long-tailed monkeys of the genera Presbytis, Pygathrix, and Simias, of the primate family Cercopithecidae. Langurs are slender primates that weigh from 7 to 18 kg. They have heavy eyebrows and, often, beardlike hairs on their chins; the Pygathrix genus is strikingly coloured. Arboreal animals they live in troops and feed on vegetation. In India, langurs are considered sacred, and troops of the animals sometimes feed unmolested on crops.
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The lanner (Falco Feldeggi or Falco lanarius) is a small falcon found in Mediterranean countries. It has plummage that is brown on the upperparts, with a barred back and blackish head and a reddish neck. The adult Lanner hrows to a length of 43 cm.
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Lapageria is a genus of liliaceous plants containing the species Lapageria rosea - the Chilean bell-flower, an evergreen climbing shrub.
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Lapeyrousia is a genus of bulbous African plants belonging to the family Iridacea. They bear blue or red flowers, usually in long irregular spikes. The flowers have slender perianth tubes and deeply cleft stigmas, and are scentless.
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The Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus) is a bird of the Finch family, Fringillidae, with a brown back streaked with black and pale stripes on the crown. The underside is white. The Lapland Bunting feeds on seeds, particularly grass seeds, and is to be seen in stubble and rough ground.
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The Lappett Moth (Gastropacha quercifolia) is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae with a wing span of between 50 and 90 mm being one of the largest European members of the family. It is found in Europe and Asia in forest-steppes and open, warm deciduous forests, gardens and formerly orchards. A single generation flies from July to August.
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The lapwing (Vanellus) is a genus of bird of the plover family Charadridae, native to every continent except North America and Antarctica. Most are birds of fresh water wetlands, but some inhabit dry grassland or moorland. Many have sharp spurs at the bend of the wing, and some have facial wattles or crests. Best known is the northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, a grassland bird of Eurasia that has occasionally strayed across the Atlantic to north-eastern North America. It is about 30 centimetres long, with a long thin crest. It is dark iridescent green above and white below, with a black throat and breast; the throat is white in winter. Its counter part over much of South America is the southern lapwing, Vanellus chilensis, which has flashy white are as on the wings and tail, and acts as a noisy sentinel for other birds when disturbed. Two other lapwings occur in South America, two in Australia, and the rest in Asia and Africa.
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The larch (Larix) is a genus of trees of the pine (Pinaceae) family native to cool-temperate and sub arctic parts of the northern hemisphere. The short, needle-like leaves are arranged spirally on new growth, in whorls at the tips of dwarf spurs on older twigs and are shed in autumn.
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The Larch Case-bearer (Coleophora laricella) is a moth of the family Coleophoridae with a wing span of between 8 and 10 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from June to July.
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The Larder Beetle (Dermestes lardarius) is a species of beetle of the carpet beetle family (Dermestidae).
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The Large Blue (Maculinea arion) is a very rare, almost extinct large butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. the caterpillars live on thyme, moving to anthills when they are older where they eat the larvae and pupae of the ants.
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The Large Chequered Skipper (Heteropterus morpheus) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae found across Europe and Asia to Korea in various habitats. A single generation is produced in a year flying from May to early July.
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The Large Copper (Lycaena dispar) is an endangered species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in scattered localities throughout Europe and Asia in damp and swampy lowland meadows.
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The Large Dark Prominent (Notodonta torva) is a moth of the family Notodontidae with a wing span of between 40 and 50 mm found in Europe and Asia in damp woodland biotopes with deciduous trees and clearings. Two generations are produced each year flying from May to August and June to October.
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The Large Elm Bark Beetle (Scolytus scolytus) is a species of bark beetle (Scolytidae) about 3 to 5 mm long. They breed chiefly between the bark and the sap-wood of deciduous trees.
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The Large Emerald (Geometra papilionaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 40 and 50 mm found in deciduous forests throughout Europe and Asia flying from June to August.
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The Large Fruit-Tree Tortrix (Archips podana) is a moth of the family Tortricidae with a wing span of between 18 and 26 mm found in Europe and Asia Minor in deciduous forests and orchards flying from June to August.
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The Large Heath Butterfly (Coenonympha tullia) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in cool, moist areas including damp meadows, marshes, bogs and mosses.
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The Large Nutmeg (Apamea anceps) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 35 and 40 mm found in temperate Europe and western Asia flying from May to July.
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The Large Pine Shoot Beetle (Tomicus piniperda) is a species of beetle of the family Scolytidae that lives on and attacks pine trees.
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The Large Pine Weevil (Hylobius abietis) is a species of Snout Beetle (Curculionidae) that lay their eggs on dying pine and spruce roots. The larvae first feed on the inner bark, later the sap wood and finally pupate in a hook-shaped passage in the wood itself. The larvae do little damage to the host, but the adults feed on the cambium and bark causing the younger trees to wilt and die.
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The large red slug (Arion ater) is a widespread and common British slug growing to twelve centimetres long and coloured either red-orange or black. When alarmed, the large red slug rolls itself into a sphere and often rocks from side to side.
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The Large Ringlet (Erebia euryale) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in European and Asiatic mountains, mainly in fir trees at altitudes above 1000 meters.
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The Large Thorn (Ennomos autumnaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 40 and 50 mm found in the whole Palaearctic and in North America mainly in deciduous forests, flying from August to October.
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The Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) is a European butterfly of the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) family, related to the Camberwell Beauty but smaller with a wing span of about 55mm.
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The Large Wainscot (Rhizedra lutosa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 42 and 50 mm found in most of the temperate zone of the Palaearctic flying from August to November.
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The Large Wall Brown (Lasiommata maera) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in north Africa, Europe and Asia in thin, grassy woods, on hillsides and in clearings.
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The Large White Yorkshire (also known simply as the Large White) is the largest of English pig breeds. They are large pigs, white or pink in colour with erect ears and an upturned lower lip. The sows are very prolific, and may produce a litter of as many as eighteen young. The Large White Yorkshire is prized for its bacon.
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The Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span measuring from 45 to 55 mm and distributed through out the Northern Palaearctic. In Europe a single generation is produced flying from June until the autumn.
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The Large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos) is a tall deciduous tree of the family Tiliaceae native to Britain with a narrow crown, spreading branches and smooth grey, later fissured bark. The leaves are alternate, stalked, dark-green and hairy above, paler below. The flowers are yellowish-white and arranged in clusters of between three and seven in a stalked pendulous cyme, half-joined to a membranous bract in the leaf axils. The fruit is an ovoid, hairy, ribbed achene, the bract acting as a wing.
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The large-leaved nettle (Urtica dubia) is a coarse perennial plant of the family Urticaceae, similar in appearance to the common nettle but with leaves the same length as the blade.
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Laricobius is a formerly rare, now widespread tiny beetle of the family Derodontidae. The larvae and the adults are voracious predators of the woolly aphids on fir trees, and have been introduced into America as a biological control agent.
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Laridae is the gull and petrel family of birds of the order Natatores. They are characterized by smooth edges to the mandibles; very long wings; the legs not placed far behind; three front toes united by a membrane, the fourth toe free, sometimes very weak or altogether wanting. They are mostly surface feeders living on fish and other animals either captured alive or found floating or thrown ashore.
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Larinus is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) that live on thistles.
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The Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) is a bird of the order Passeriformes, family emberizidae. It is a medium-small bird with stubby bill; back brown; front and neck whitish; black spot on belly; head of adult with bold brown and white stripes; black chin strap; bill yellow; tail with white corners visible in flight; the immature with brown and beige head stripes. Feeds on ground in grassy and other open areas. It is a fairly common permanent resident of cismontane California; winter visitor in southern deserts; most commonly occurs in grasslands; also found near agricultural fields, in desert scrub and montane habitats.
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Larrea is a genus of tropical evergreen shrubs belonging to the family Zygophyllaceae.
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Lasioderma is a genus of beetle of the family Anobiidae, round or oval in shape with serrate antennae and have a fondness for tobacco.
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Lasiopetalum is a genus of Australasian evergreen shrubs belonging to the family Sterculiaceae.
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Lasthenia is a genus of half-hardy annual plants belonging to the family Compositae. They bear heads of yellow flowers in summer.
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Latania is a genus of fan palms, natives of the Mascarene Islands. They are tall-growing, bearing at their summit a tuft of handsome, long-petioled, palmately flabelliform leaves. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants.
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Lathraea is a genus of leafless herbaceous plants belonging to the family Orobanchaceae. They are natives of Europe and temperate Asia, and are parasitic on the roots of certain trees.
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Lathridius is a genus of Mould Beetle (Lathridiidae).
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Lathrobium is a genus of long bodied, parallel sided rove beetles, Staphylinidae, with irregularly punctured elytra. In some species the membranous wings are absent, in others fully developed.
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Lathyrus is a genus of mostly climbing plants belonging to the family Leguminosae.
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Laticaudinae is a sub-family of reptiles of the Sea Snake family (Hydrophiidae) containing a single genus - The Sea Krait (Laticaudidae) - which some experts argue is actually a member of the Elapidae family and not a Sea Snake at all. Unlike the other Sea Snakes, members of the family have normal nostrils.
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The Lattice Brown (Kirinia roxelana) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae found in south-east Europe and the Middle East.
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The lattice leaf (Ouvirandra fenestralis) is a Madagascan water plant of the family Juncaginaceae. The leaves are of an open structure, about twenty centimetres long, rectangular and float just below the surface of the water. The flowers are borne in spikes on the surface. The roots of the plant are used as an article of food by the natives of Madagascar.
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The Latticed Heath (Semiothisa clathrata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 20 and 25 mm found throughout the Palaearctic flying from April to August in two generations in fields and other grassy places.
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The Latvian Harness Horse is a Latvian breed of heavy horse first developed in 1952. The Latvian Harness Horse stands between 15 and 16 hands high, is mostly bay in colour but also black or chestnut and is used for light harness work and as a riding horse. They have a large attractive head, small, alert ears and expressive eyes. The neck is long and muscular and set to high withers.
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The Latvian Light Harness Horse is a Latvian breed of middle-weight horse developed during the early 20th century. Despite its name the
Latvian Light Harness Horse is also a good riding horse and is often used for dressage and jumping. The Latvian Light Harness Horse stands between 15 and 16 hands high and is black, bay, brown or occasionally chestnut in colour.
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The laughing jackass or settler's clock (Dacelo gigas) is a large Australian kingfisher so called from its peculiar gurgling cry.
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Laurelia is a genus of trees belonging to the family Monimiaceae. They are found in Chile and New Zealand and have aromatic leaves resembling bay leaves in scent.
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Laurentia is a genus of half-hardy, herbaceous plants belonging to the family Campanulaceae. They are small plants of fragile habit.
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Laurinaceae is a family of herbs, shrubs and trees. They are mostly tropical in habitat and possess marked aromatic properties. They bear evergreen, coriaceous leaves and small greenish flowers.
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Lavatera is a genus of herbaceous and shrubby plants belonging to the family Malvaceae.
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Lavender (Lavandula vera) is a hardy perennial evergreen herb of the family Labiatae. It has been valued for many years for its fragrant flowers which retain their fragrance for a long time if carefully gathered and dried. It has ever-grey leaves, narrow and entire, and in summer bears interrupted spikes of bluish labiate flowers arranged in whorls.
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Lawsonia is a genus belonging to the family Lythraceae, containing only one species, the henna plant.
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Laxton's Fortune is a species of apple first raised in 1904. The fruit is sweet with Cox as one parent, so with some of its characteristic flavour.
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Laxton's Superb is an English species of apple produced by the Laxton brothers of Bedford from Cox' s Orange Pippin.
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In botanical terms, a leaflet is a division of a compound leaf.
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Leap is the collective noun for a group of leopards.
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Leash is the collective noun for a group of bucks.
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The least shrew (Sorex minutissimus) is an extremely small European shrew recognisable by its short and narrow tail and a clear cut division between a dark brown back and lighter flanks and underside. The least shrew lives in wet coniferous forests with moss cover; damp swamp edges, and on the edge of forests with lush grass where it feeds on small insects, insect larvae, spiders and snails, eating up to 2 to 5 times its own weight within 24 hours.
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Lebia is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, with perhaps five species occurring in Britain, but they are rare. They live chiefly in shrubs and trees where the adults catch insect larvae and aphids in the evening, and the larvae are parasites of the leaf-beetle pupae.
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Lechwe are two species of African antelope of the Waterbuck genus (Kobus) subfamily Hippotraginae. They are smaller than the Waterbucks, and have long sinuous horns.
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The Lecythidaceae are a group of plants forming a subdivision of the family Myrtaceae. They are natives of Guiana and other hot parts of South America.
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Ledum is a genus of dwarf, hardy, evergreen shrubs, belonging to the family Ericaceae. The flowers are white and are borne in umbels.
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Leech is a popular term for annelid worms of the class Hirudinea comprising those worms equipped with a sucker at each end that draw blood from their prey (warm blooded mammals), such as Hirudo medicinalis. Leeches live in hot, swampy areas particularly in stagnant water and feed on the blood of passing mammals. Pulling a leech off can result in the jaw being left in the skin, and an infection resulting. The prefered method for removing leeches in the wild is to touch them with the lighted end of a cigarette, causing the leech to release its grip and drop off.
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The leek (Allium porrum) is a hardy biennial plant of the lily family (Liliaceae), related to the onion. In the first year, long, linear leaves arise from a compressed stem. In the second year a tall, solid stalk rises bearing leaves and a large, globular, simple, terminal umbel of numerous flowers.
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The Leghorn is an Italian breed of chicken, though the breed was developed over the years independently in a number of countries leading to different types of Leghorn chicken. The Leghorn is an elongated country fowl type of bird with white ear-lobes and yellow shanks, but the tail and comb vary between the different types, as does the general colouring. The Leghorn may be white (the standard or official colour), multi-coloured or even white with a marbled black colouring. The Leghorn chicken is rarely broody, matures early and grows quickly. The Leghorn was a very popular breed until the 1960s on account of its prolific laying , hens laying around 200, white-shelled, eggs a year. After the 1960s the Leghorn became more of a show bird.
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A legume is a dry fruit formed from a single carpel and containing one or more seeds, which are shed when mature. It is the characteristic fruit of the Leguminosae family. Legumes split, often explosively, along both sides and the two halves of the fruit move apart to expose the seeds. A special form of the legume is the lomentum.
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The Leguminosae family of plants have pods containing dry fruits and nitrogen rich roots.
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The Leicester is a breed of long-woolled British sheep. It has a small, usually bare head, white face, large nose and no horns.
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Leiodes is a genus of beetles of the family Leiodidae. They have a light to dark brown coloured, usually high-domed body. Their legs are adapted for digging and are equipped with strong spines. They feed on underground fungi including truffles and moulds. Colenis Colenis is a genus of beetles of the family Leiodidae. Only one species occur in Britain, Colenis immunda, which is about two millimetres long, and lives in mouldy leaves and moss. Cyrtusa Cyrtusa is a genus of beetles of the family Leiodidae. They are almost spherical in shape and have legs adapted for digging.
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Leiodidae is a family of fungi eating beetles. The majority of species have a round, domed body, but some are more elongate. They range in colour from light brown to black and have claviform antennae.
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Leiopus is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae). The most common longhorn beetle in Britain - Leiopus nebulosus - belongs to this genus and develops beneath the bark of various deciduous trees.
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Leiosoma is a genus of tiny (about 3 mm long) Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) represented by three British species.
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Leisler's bat (Nyctalus leisleri) closely resembles the noctule in general appearance but is much smaller, the wing span being from 25 to 30 cm. The shape and proportions of the ear are similar to those of the noctule the first premolar also being minute. The lower incisors are less crowded than those of the noctule and overlap each other very little if at all. The colour is a darker and not such a golden brown, the outer ends of the hairs fading to a rusty brown in spring and early summer, especially in the males. The fur of the under surface is a lighter shade of the same colour. The range of Leisler's bat extends right through Europe and temperate Asia from Ireland to China. Leisler's bat is often gregarious, living in holes in trees, and roofs or holes in buildings; the colonies may number up to a hundred, but the bats are sometimes solitary, especially when hibernating.
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Leistus is a genus of beetles of the family Carabidae, recognisable by their very wide mandibles, large head with prominent eyes and their heart-shaped pronotum. The colouring between the species varies greatly, but they are all between 5 and 10 mm in length and generally live in deciduous woods, although Leistus ferrugineus can be found in both dry and wet habitats in warmer parts of Europe.
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Lemon is the fruit of Citrus Limonum, a tree or shrub belonging to the orange group. It is a native of India, but has been naturalized and cultivated in many sub-tropical parts of the world. It is a much-branched, thorny bush about four meters tall, bearing oval leaves and five-petaled flowers, followed by yellow ovoid fruits.
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The Lemon Slug (Limax tenellus) is a rare, small, bright yellow British slug with dark tentacles that feeds on fungi.
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Lemoniidae is a small family of moths consisting of a single genus (Lemonia) and several species confined to the Palaearctic region.
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Lemurs are species of omnivorous forest dwelling primates found in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. They have large eyes and bushy tails.
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The lemuroidea is an order of Eutheria. They are related to the monkeys, but are more primitive. They are adapted to arboreal life.
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Lentibulariaceae is a family of dicotyledonous plants, most of which are aquatic herbs, having entire radical leaves, or multipartite floating leaves with bladders. The corolla is two-lipped, and the fruit a many-seeded capsule.
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The lentil is an annual plant of the Leguminosae family.
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Leonotis is a genus of herbs and shrubs belonging to the family Labiate, family Ballotidae, natives of tropical and subtropical regions. They are characterised by dentate leaves and by showy red or yellow sessile flowers.
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Leontodon is a genus of composite-flowering plants with dentately-lobed leaves, the lobes pointing backward, an involucre imbricated with scales, a flattened fruit with a long beaj, and a hairy white pappus. The flowers are all strap-shaped and the flower stalk is hollow and smooth, with a single flower-head on its summit. the leaves are radicle.
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The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the larger members of the cat family and is found in a wide range of habitats, having the most extensive distribution of any of the wild species of cat, occurring throughout much of Africa and Asia. The body of an adult is about 1.2 meters long, exclusive of a one meter long tail. Typically the coat is pale tan in colour, and it is marked with broken circles of black spots. Unlike the rosettes of the American jaguar, these circles have no central spot. Specimens with darker ground colours are seen, and some leopards-born in otherwise ordinary litters-are completely black and are known as black panthers.
Leopards are agile climbers, and will often stalk monkeys in the trees, or lie in wait on a limb for a terrestrial animal to pass by. They hunt mainly at night. When game is scarce, a leopard will eat field mice, fruit, porcupines, baboons, or crocodiles. The female bears about four young per litter.
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The Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina) is a moth of the family Cossidae with a wing span of between 35 and 60 mm found in Europe and Asia and in North America where it was introduced during the 19th century. The adult moths fly from July to September at night.
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The leopard seal is a ferocious species of seal found in Antarctica where it grows to almost four meters long and preys on penguins.
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The leopard Slug (Limax maximus) is a large, well-marked British slug about sixteen centimetres in length with a pinkish grey body covered in dark blotches and spots.
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Lepanthes is a genus of tropical epiphytal orchids.
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Leperisinus is a genus of beetle of the family Scolytidae that attacks ash trees, the larvae feeding between the bark and the sap-wood, the adults chewing at the outside of the bark.
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Lepidium (pepperwort) is a genus of plants of the family Cruciferae, bearing small white flowers of no great decorative value.
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Lepidoptera is an order of insects which includes the butterflies and moths, and is marked by the following characteristics: - There are four pairs of wings and both they and the body are covered with scales, frequently brightly coloured, which on the body may resemble hairs in appearance. The imago, or perfect insect, is devoid of biting jaws, and usually possesses a long protrusible proboscis. The metamorphosis is well marked, and the larva (caterpillar) has powerful jaws and is almost invariably vegetarian in diet. In the pupa stage the appendages are usually cemented to the body, which is invested by a continuous horny skin, and frequently by a cocoon in addition.
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Lepismidae is a family of minute wingless insects of the order Thysanura, having the abdomen furnished at its extremity with three caudal bristles which are used in leaping.
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Leporidae is a family of mammals of the order Lagomorpha, having long ears and limbs and a short tail. The family includes rabbits and hares.
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Leptacinus is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. They are mostly dark brown or black in colour, with brownish yellow legs.
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Leptinella is a genus of hardy herbaceous plants of the family Compositae and native to Australia and New Zealand. They have small yellow flowers and pinnate leaves.
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Leptinidae is a family of beetles. The members are modified for life as commensals with mammals.
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Leptinus is a genus of beetles of the family Leptinidae, ranging from two to twenty-two millimetres in length and living in the nests of small mammals, such as mice and moles.
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Leptoceratops was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Leptoceratops was a small animal, about two meters long and standing about one meter tall. A horned dinosaur, it had short arms and long hind legs indicating that it may have walked on its hind legs. The arms were furnished with grasping hands.
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Leptoplana is a member of the order Polycladida.
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Leptospermum is a genus of half-hardy shrubs of the family Myrtaceae. They are natives of Australasia, have small hard leaves and bear white flowers.
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Leptostraca is a marine order of crustaceans of the sub-class Malacostraca. The carapace takes the form of a bivalved shell. In the front of the head region is a movable head plate.
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Leptotyphlopidae is the 'Worm Snakes' family of reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (snakes). The members consist of about forty species in two genera native to the Americas, Africa and Asia as far east as India. The members are the smallest snakes, very slender and resembling worms. They live mainly in ant and termite nests where they feed largely on the larvae and the pupae. They are devoid of teeth in the upper jaw.
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Leptura is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) represented by seven British species. They vary in size from seven to twenty-two millimetres in length depending upon the species. The larvae of all species develop in wood.
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Leptusa is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae.
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Lepyrus is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) found on willow trees.
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Lesothosaurus was a herbivore dinosaur from the triassic era. It was a small dinosaur, about 1m long with a long tail.
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Lespedeza is a genus of shrubs and herbs of the family Fabaceae including 40 or more species, native to eastern Asia, Australia, and North America. Most species are shrubby, upright perennials but a few are herbaceous or semi- herbaceous perennials and two Asian species, common lespedeza (Lespedeza striata), and Korean lespedeza (Lespedeza stipulacea), are herbaceous annuals. The lavender flowers of the genus are conspicuous in the shrubby species and inconspicuous in most of the herbaceous species.
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The Lesser Broad-Bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua janthina) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span measuring between 30 and 40 mm and producing a single generation which flies from July to September. The moth lives in warmer European lowland regions.
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The Lesser Clouded Yellow (Colias chrysotheme) is a species of butterfly of the family Pieridae, found only on the Asiatic steppes ranging west to Vienna and east to the Altai. Two generations occur each year, one in May and one in August or September.
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The lesser horseshoe-bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) greatly resembles the Greater Horsehoe-bat but is smaller, with a wing span of about 22 cm. pointed and have a well-developed antitragus very similar to that of the greater horseshoe-bat on a smaller scale, but there are small differences from that species in the details of the form of the nose-leaf. The colour is a rather greyer brown without the yellowish or pinkish shade, and the fur is proportionately longer, silkier and less velvety. The underside tends to be lighter in colour and the fur extends on to the base of the wing membranes. As in the larger species there is a bare patch at the base of the tail on the upper surface. The upper incisors, and the first upper, and the first two lower premolars are very minute. The range extends from Ireland to the Himalayas and north Africa and includes all Europe south of the Baltic. In the British Isles it is common in the south and west from Kent to Cornwall, though scarcer in Sussex and Hampshire.
The lesser horshoe-bat is found throughout Wales and the border counties but not in east Anglia or north of Yorkshire. In Ireland it is confined to the west. The lesser horseshoe-bat is gregarious, the summer colonies occurring in house and church roofs and perhaps in hollow trees. The winter colonies are nearly always in caves, but the species is not then closely gregarious, individuals usually hanging up at some distance from their neighbours. They do not always hang in the roof of the cave and often choose the undersides of projecting points or boulders where they are only a few inches from the ground. The summer colonies show a segregation of the sexes and usually consist mainly of adult females, some immature bats of both sexes, and a few adult males.
The flight is rather fluttering with frequent glides, and usually fairly near to the ground. The food consists of the smaller insects; moths appear to form a large part of the diet. The single young is born in June or July, the breeding season being rather protracted. Hibernation lasts from early October to the beginning of April, but it is frequently interrupted, the bats shifting their quarters within the hibernating cave and perhaps feeding upon the gnats which are usually found in them; but they are not known to come out into the open in the winter. Wherever caves are used by the greater horseshoe-bat for hibernation this species is found too; but because its range in Britain is much wider, it is also found in many caves outside the range of that species.
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The Lesser Marbled Fritillary (Brenthis ino) is a species of brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) widespread throughout the temperate zone of Europe, but absent from Britain, and ranging across Asia to Japan where it likes damp, cool environments especially water meadows.
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The Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor) is a highly poisonous perennial herbaceous sub shrub of the family Apocynaceae with creeping stems that root at the nodes and with short, ascending flowering shoots. The leaves are opposite, short-stalked, evergreen, leathery and elliptic. The flowers are usually solitary, blue, mauve or white in colour, and grow in the axils of the upper leaf stems. The flowers have five petals slightly unequal in size and there is a white ring around the opening to the corolla tube.
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The Lesser Purple Emperor (Apatura ilia) is a species of butterfly of the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) family, noted for its iridescent, metallic, violet-blue sheen which occurs on the wings of the male. It is found in damp, deciduous forests in the vicinity of streams, rivers and ponds where it settles on tree foliage overhanging the water. The
Lesser Purple Emperor is slightly smaller than the related Purple Emperor, and occurs over a wider area from Spain to Japan.
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The Lesser Swallow Prominent (Pheosia gnoma) is a moth of the family Notodontidae with a wing span of between 45 and 50 mm distributed across Europe and Asia as far as the Far East. Two generations are produced flying from April to June and the second from July to August. The caterpillar feeds on birch.
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The Lesser Wax Moth (Achoria grisella) is a moth of the family Pyralidae with a wing span of between 13 and 25 mm found in bees nests across the world producing several broods in a year. The caterpillar is a serious pest to bee keepers, covering the honeycombs with silken threads and often trapping the bees.
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The lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens) is a south European shrew recognisable by its white teeth and the second uni-cuspid tooth markedly smaller than the third in crown view. The teeth appear more variable in size than those of other white-toothed shrews. It is similar to the greater white- toothed shrew but smaller and with a more yellowish coloured underside. The lesser white-toothed shrew lives in dry bracken, tall vegetation and other habitats offering good cover and litter zone. It builds a nest of soft vegetation in sheltered places on heathland and feeds on insects and other invertebrates especially sand hoppers. It is a generally solitary animal, but not as aggressive as Sorex genus shrews. The breeding season is from spring to autumn and the animal may breed in its first year, reaching Sexual maturity at 45 to 50 days old. The gestation period is 28 days and produces a litter of between one and six young and there may be up to four litters in a year.
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The Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes) is a moth of the family Noctuidae found in southern and central Europe, Asia Minor and western Asia and having a wing span measuring from 37 to 45 mm.
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Lesteva is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. They are discernable hairy, and most species live in waterside locations.
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Lethrus is a genus of large beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. They build underground passages about 40 cm deep to lay their eggs in and carry in fresh leaves which when fermented provide food for the larvae.
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Lettuce is a popular name for members of the herbaceous genus Lactuca, of the family Asteraceae, family Compositae, particularly the garden lettuce, (Lactuca sativa). The genus is native to temperate regions of Eurasia and North America. The flowers, borne in panicled heads, produce feathered fruits called achenes. European wild, or prickly lettuce, (Lactuca scariola), is widely distributed throughout Europe and naturalized in the north-eastern USA. It has a slightly prickly stem, and the leaves have soft-prickled margins. European wild lettuce is thought by most botanists to be the parent species of garden lettuce. American wild lettuce, or horseweed, (Lactuca canadensis), is a smoother, leafier plant, native to temperate North America; it is common in thickets and damp borders of fields.
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Leucoium (Snowflake) is a genus of hardy, bulbous plants of the family Amaryllidaceae. They usually have long, narrow leaves and pendulous white flowers, remotely like those of the snowdrop.
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Leucopogon is a genus of tropical and subtropical evergreen shrubs of the family Epacridaceae. They bear terminal axillary spikes of small white flowers, and are mostly natives of Australia.
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Leucosomus is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae).
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The Lewes Wave (Scopula immorata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 20 and 27 mm found in temperate Europe and Asia in dry, grassy biotopes flying from May to August.
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Lexovisaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Lexovisaurus was a member of the Stegosaurus family with flat plate armour and round pointed spines that ran along its back and tail. It was about five meters long, a herbivore and walked on all-fours.
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The Lhasa Apso is an ancient Tibetan breed of companion dog formerly presented to the Chinese court by the Dalai Lamer and also kept as guardians of the herds of goats. The breed reached the West during the early part of the 20th century. They are an attractive, alert and intelligent breed that live a long time, frequently past their late-teens.
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Libocedrus is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees bearing oval, obtuse woody cones.
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Libonia is a genus of tropical plants of the family Acanthaceae.
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Libytheidae is the snout butterflies family of insects of the order Lepidoptera.
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Lice-bane (Delphinium staphisagria) is a stout-stemmed annual or occasionally biennial plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It has hairy five to seven-lobed leaves, each lobe entire or three-lobed, the lobes being ovate-lanceolate or blunt. The flowers are deep blue in colour.
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Licinus is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae. They are large, black in colour, with a flat head and pincer-like jaws. They live on mostly dry and often sandy or chalky soil and feed chiefly on snails. There are two British species, both restricted to the south of the country.
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Licuala is a genus of dwarf tropical palms, with terminal fan-shaped leaves and prickly stalks.
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The Light Arches (Apamea lithoxylaea) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 43 and 50 mm found in the warmer and temperate parts of Europe and Asia flying from June to August.
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The Light Crimson Underwing (Catocala promissa) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 60 and 65 mm found in deciduous forests in Europe and Asia Minor flying from June until August.
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The Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 30 and 40 mm found in deciduous forests of Europe and Asia Minor flying from June to July.
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The term light horse refers to any breed of horse which is suitable for riding, and as such light horses and heavy horses overlap, with some breeds being suitable for riding and for draft work. Light horses have a lighter skeletal frame than heavy horses, well defined withers and a back that is not too broad. The first eight ribs tend to be somewhat flattened to allow the saddle to fit easily.
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The Light Orange Underwing (Archiearis notha) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 28 and 35 mm found in moist deciduous forests in Europe and Asia flying in March and April.
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The Lilac Leaf Miner (Caloptilia syringella) is a moth of the family Gracillariidae with a wing span of between 12 and 14 mm found in Europe in deciduous forests and shrubby undergrowth and in urban parks. Two generations are produced flying from April to August.
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The Liliaceae is the lilly family. They are stemless plants, with a simple or branched trunk, and have bulbous or fascicled roots.
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Lilioceris is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) related to Cricoceris but live chiefly on lilies.
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Lilly is a popular name for herbaceous plants of the family Lilium, of the family Liliaceae. The typical genus being Liliaceae which contains some eighty species. Lilies have been cultivated as attractive garden plants since antiquity, with one of the oldest species being the Madonna lilly (Lillium candidum) which is mentioned in the poetry of Homer.
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Lily-of-the-valley is a highly poisonous perennial herb of the family Liliaceae with a tangle of underground rhizomes which in spring, bear stalked, broadly elliptic leaves, two on each stem, and later a scape with a one-sided raceme of drooping, white, sweet-scented, bell-shaped flowers. The fruit is a bright red globose berry. Lily-of-the-valley grows in the undergrowth of shady woods, in thickets and hedgerows mostly on soils rich in lime.
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Limacodidae is the slug-caterpillar moths family of insects of the order Lepidoptera.
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Limanda is a genus of marine flatfish, brown or greyish in colour with irregular dark markings and close-set scales. They grow to about 30 cm in length and are commonly known by the name dab or European dab.
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The Lime Hawkmoth (Mimas tiliae) is a moth of the family Sphingidae with a wing span of between 55 and 70 mm found in deciduous forests and urban parks in Europe and Asia flying from May to July.
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The lime tree (Tilia europoea) or linden tree of Germany is extensively planted in England on account of its fairly rapid growth and its tolerance of town atmosphere. It has a sturdy trunk and slender upright, close-growing branches. The leaves are large and heart-shaped, pointed at the apex, and with a downy under surface. The lime bears groups of very fragrant yellowish- green flowers which are much sought after by bees on account of the large quantities of nectar they contain. The wood of the lime is white and close- grained.
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The Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia centaureata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 16 and 20 mm found in north Africa, Europe and Asia. Two generations are produced flying from May to Septe | 
Abbreviations
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