Kids Encyclopedia

Witch Hazel — Witch-hazel (Hamamelis) is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with two species in North America (H. virginiana and H. vernalis), and one each in Japan (H. japonica) and China (H. mollis). They are deciduous shrubs or (rarely) small trees growing to 3-8 m tall, rarely to 12 m tall. The leaves …

Wisteria — Wisteria is a genus of about ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and the East Asian states of China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the genus Hygrophila, as Water Wisteria. Wisteria vines climb by twining their stems either clockwise or counter-clockwise round any available support. They …

Wintergreen — Wintergreen is a group of plants. Wintergreen once commonly referred to plants that continue photosynthesis (remain green) throughout the winter. The term evergreen is now more commonly used for this characteristic. Some species of the shrub genus Gaultheria in the closely related family Ericaceae also demonstrate this characteristic and are called wintergreens in North America, the most common …

Willow, Babylon Weeping — Salix babylonica (Peking Willow or Babylon Willow) is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the silk road to southwest Asia and Europe. It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree, growing up to 20-25 m tall. It grows rapidly, but has …

Willow, American Pussy — Salix discolor (American Pussy Willow) is a species of willow native to North America, one of two species commonly called Pussy Willow. It is native to the northern forests and wetlands of Canada (British Columbia east to Newfoundland) and the northeastern contiguous United States (Idaho south to Wyoming, and east to Maine and Maryland). It is …

Wheat — Wheat (Triticum spp.) is a domesticated grass from the Levant that is cultivated worldwide. Globally, wheat is an important human food, its production being second only to maize among the cereal crops; rice ranks third. Wheat grain is a staple food used to make flour for leavened, flat and steamed breads; cookies, cakes, pasta, noodles and couscous; and …

Watermelon — Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai, family Cucurbitaceae) refers to both fruit and plant of a vine-like (climber and trailer) herb originally from southern Africa and one of the most common types of melon. This flowering plant produces a special type of fruit known by botanists as a pepo, which has a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy …

Water Lilly — Nymphaeaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The family is also called the water lily family. The white water lily is the national flower of Bangladesh. It is also the birth flower for July. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on the water surface. …

Water Hyacinth — The seven species of water hyacinths comprise the genus Eichhornia of free-floating perennial aquatic plants native to tropical South America. With broad, thick and glossy ovate leaves, water hyacinths may rise some 1 metre in height. The leaves are 10-20 cm across, supported above the water surface by long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging …

Walnut, English — Juglans regia (the Common walnut, Persian walnut, or English walnut), is the original walnut tree of the Old World. It is native in a region stretching from the Balkans eastward to the Himalayas and southwest China. The largest forests are in Kyrgyzstan, where trees occur in extensive, nearly pure walnut forests at 1,000–2,000 m altitude (Hemery 1998)—notably …