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 Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630


carragheen
Species of deep-reddish branched seaweed. Named after Carragheen, near Waterford, in the Republic of Ireland, it is found on rocky shores on both sides of the Atlantic. It is exploited commercially in food and medicines and as cattle feed. (Chondrus crispus.)

carnation
Any of a large number of double-flowered cultivated varieties of a plant belonging to the pink family. The flowers smell like cloves; they are divided into flake, bizarre, and picotees, according to whether the petals have one or more colours on their white base, have the colour appearing in strips, or have a coloured border to the petals. ...

caraway
Herb belonging to the carrot family. Native to northern temperate regions of Europe and Asia, it is grown for its spicy, aromatic seeds, which are used in cookery, medicine, and perfumery. (Carum carvi, family Umbelliferae.)

caper
Trailing shrub native to the Mediterranean. Its flower buds are preserved in vinegar as a condiment. (Capparis spinosa, family Capparidaceae.)

capsicum
Any of a group of pepper plants belonging to the nightshade family, native to Central and South America. The different species produce green to red fruits that vary in size. The small ones are used whole to give the hot flavour of chilli, or ground to produce cayenne or red pepper; the large poin...

cane
Reedlike stem of various plants such as the sugar cane, bamboo, and, in particular, the group of palms called rattans, consisting of the genus Calamus and its allies. Their slender stems are dried and used for making walking sticks, baskets, and furniture

camellia
Any oriental evergreen shrub with roselike flowers belonging to the tea family. Many species, including Camellia japonica and C. reticulata, have been introduced into Europe, the USA, and Australia; they are widely cultivated as ornamental shrubs. (Genus Camellia, family Theaceae.)

calabash
Tropical South American evergreen tree with gourds (fruits) 50 cm/20 in across, whose dried skins are used as water containers. The Old World tropical-vine bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria, of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae) is sometimes also called a calabash, and it produces equally large gourds. (Crescentia c...

cactus
Click images to enlargeStrictly, any plant of the family Cactaceae, although the word is commonly used to describe many different succulent and prickly plants. True cacti have a woody axis (central core) surrounded by a large fleshy stem, which takes various forms and is usually covered with spines (actually reduced leave...

cabbage
Vegetable plant related to the turnip and wild mustard, or charlock. It was cultivated as early as 2000 BC, and the many commercial varieties include kale, Brussels sprouts, common cabbage, savoy, cauliflower, sprouting broccoli, and kohlrabi. (Brassica oleracea, family Cruciferae....

Cassiopeia
(astronomy) Prominent constellation of the northern hemisphere, named after the mother of Andromeda (who was the wife of Perseus). It has a distinctive W-shape, and contains one of the most powerful radio sources in the sky, Cassiopeia A. This is the remains of a supernova (star explosion)...

Carina
Constellation of the southern hemisphere, represented as a ship's keel. Its brightest star is Canopus, the second brightest in the night sky; it also contains Eta Carinae, a massive and highly luminous star embedded in a gas cloud, perhaps 8,000 light years away from the Sun. Carina was formerly regarded as part of Argo, and is situated in ...

Capricornus
Zodiacal constellation in the southern hemisphere next to Sagittarius. It is represented as a sea-goat, and its brightest stars are third magnitude. The Sun passes through it from late January to mid-February. In astrology, the dates for Capricornus (popularly known as Capricorn) are between about 22 December and 19 January (see precession)

Capella
Brightest star in the constellation Auriga and the sixth-brightest star in the night sky. It is a visual and spectroscopic binary that consists of a pair of yellow-giant stars 42 light years from the Sun, orbiting each other every 104 days. Its Latin name means the `the Little Nanny Goat`: its kids are the three adjacent stars...

Canopus
Second-brightest star in the night sky (after Sirius), with magnitude -0.7, lying in the southern constellation Carina. It is a yellow-white supergiant about 100 light years from the Sun, and thousands of times more luminous than the Sun

Canis Minor
Small constellation along the celestial equator (see celestial sphere), represented as the smaller of the two dogs of Orion (the other dog being Canis Major). Its brightest star is the first magnitude Procyon. Procyon and Beta Canis Minoris form what the Arabs called `the Short Cubit`, in contrast to `the Long Cubit` formed by C...

Canis Major
Brilliant constellation of the southern hemisphere, represented (with Canis Minor) as one of the two dogs following at the heel of Orion. Its main star, Sirius, is the brightest star in the night sky. Epsilon Canis Majoris is also of the first magnitude, and there are three second magnitude stars

Canes Venatici
Constellation of the northern hemisphere near Ursa Major, identified with the hunting dogs of Boötes, the herder. Its stars are faint. However, it contains the spectacular Whirlpool galaxy (M51), the first spiral galaxy to be recognized. The constellation contains many other objects of telescopic interest, including the relatively bright globu...

Cancer
Faintest of the zodiacal constellations (its brightest stars are fourth magnitude). It lies in the northern hemisphere between Leo and Gemini, and is represented as a crab. The Sun passes through the constellation during late July and early August. In astrology, the dates for Cancer are between about 22 June and 22 July (see precession). Cancer'...

carbon dating
Alternative name for radiocarbon dating

carbide
Compound of carbon and one other chemical element, usually a metal, silicon, or boron. Calcium carbide (CaC2) can be used as the starting material for many basic organic chemical syntheses, by the addition of water and generation of ethyne (acetylene). Some metallic carbides are used in engineering because of their extreme ha...

catalyst
Click images to enlargeSubstance that alters the speed of, or makes possible, a chemical or biochemical reaction but remains unchanged at the end of the reaction. Enzymes are natural biochemical catalysts. In practice most catalysts are used to speed up reactions. The catalysts used in the chemical industry are often tran...

carbonate
Ion formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water; any salt formed by this ion and another chemical element, usually a metal. Carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolves sparingly in water (for example, when rain falls through the air) to form carbonic acid (H2CO3), which unites with vario...

carbon monoxide
Colourless, odourless gas formed when carbon is oxidized in a limited supply of air. It is a poisonous constituent of car exhaust fumes; it forms a stable compound with haemoglobin in the blood, thus preventing the haemoglobin from transporting oxygen to the body tissues. In industry, carbon monoxide is used as a reducing agent in metallurgical...

carbon
Non-metallic element, atomic number 6, relative atomic mass 12.011. It occurs on its own as diamond, graphite, and as fullerenes (the allotropes), as compounds in carbonaceous rocks such as chalk and limestone, as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as hydrocarbons in petroleum, coal, and natural g...

carbohydrate
Chemical compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with the basic formula Cm(H2O)n, and related compounds with the same basic structure but modified functional groups. They are importa...

camphor
Volatile, fragrant, ketone substance obtained from the camphor tree Cinnamomum camphora. It is distilled from chips of the wood, and is used in insect repellents and medicinal inhalants and liniments, and in the manufacture of celluloid. The camphor tree, a member of the family Lauraceae, is native to China, Taiwan, and Japan

calcium
Soft, silvery-white metallic element, atomic number 20, relative atomic mass 40.08. It is one of the alkaline-earth metals. It is the fifth most abundant element (the third most abundant metal) in the Earth's crust. It is found mainly as its carbonate CaCO3, which occurs in a fairly pure condition as chalk and lim...

caffeine
Alkaloid organic substance found in tea, coffee, and kola nuts; it stimulates the heart and central nervous system. When isolated, it is a bitter crystalline compound, C8H10N4O2. Too much caffeine (more than six average-size cups of tea or coffee a d...

Cavour, Camillo Benso di, Count
Italian nationalist politician, a leading figure in the Italian Risorgimento. As prime minister of Piedmont 1852–59 and 1860–61, he enlisted the support of Britain and France for the concept of a united Italy, achieved in 1861; after expelling the Austrians in 1859, he assisted Garibaldi in liberating southern Italy...

Cavan
(county) County of the Republic of Ireland, on the border with Northern Ireland, in the province of Ulster; county town Cavan; area 1,890 sq km/730 sq mi; population (2002) 56,550. The chief rivers are the Woodford, the Shannon (rising on the south slopes of Cuilcagh mountain&#...

Cavalli,
(Pietro) Italian composer. He was organist at St Mark's, Venice, and the first to make opera a popular entertainment with such works as Equisto (1643) and Xerxes (1654), later performed in honour of Louis XIV's wedding in Paris. Twenty-seven of...

cavalier
Horseman of noble birth, but mainly used as a derogatory nickname to describe a male supporter of Charles I in the English Civil War (Cavalier), typically with courtly dress and long hair (as distinct from a Roundhead); also a supporter of Charles II after the Restoration

cave
Passage or tunnel – or series of tunnels – formed underground by water or by waves on a coast. Caves of the former type commonly occur in areas underlain by limestone, such as Kentucky, USA, and many Balkan regions, where the rocks are soluble in water. A pothole is a vertical hole in rock ...

Catherine
(II) Click images to enlargeEmpress of Russia from 1762, and daughter of the German prince of Anhalt-Zerbst. In 1745 she married the Russian grand duke Peter. Catherine dominated her husband; six months after he became Tsar Peter III in 1762,...

Catherine de' Medici
French queen consort of Henry II, whom she married in 1533; daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino; and mother of Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. At first outshone by Henry's mistress Diane de Poitiers (1490–1566), she became regent for Charles IX (1560–63) an...

catarrh
Inflammation of any mucous membrane, especially of the nose and throat, with increased production of mucus

catechism
Teaching by question and answer on the Socratic method, but chiefly as a means of instructing children in the basics of the Christian creed. A person being instructed in this way in preparation for baptism or confirmation is called a catechumen

cataract
Eye disease in which the crystalline lens or its capsule becomes cloudy, causing blindness. Fluid accumulates between the fibres of the lens and gives place to deposits of albumin. These coalesce into rounded bodies, the lens fibres break down, and areas of the lens or the lens capsule become filled with opaque products of degeneration. The conditi...

Cataluña
Autonomous community of northeast Spain; area 31,930 sq km/12,328 sq mi; population (2001 est) 6,361,400. It includes the provinces of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Olives, vines, cereals, and nuts are grown, and some livestock is raised. Cataluña is the main industrial region of Spain. Originally based on the textile i...

Castro
(Ruz) Cuban communist politician, prime minister 1959–76 and president 1976–2008. He led the revolution that overthrew the right-wing regime of the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He improved education and health and raised the standard of living for most Cubans, but dealt ha...

Castlereagh, Robert Stewart
British Tory politician. As chief secretary for Ireland 1797–1801, he suppressed the rebellion of 1798 and helped the younger Pitt secure the union of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1801. As foreign secretary 1812–22, he coordinated European opposition to Napoleon and represented Britain at the Congress of Vienna (1814–15)

castle
Click images to enlargeFortified building or group of buildings, characteristic of medieval Europe. The castle was originally designed as a defensive fortification, but it also functioned as a residence for the royalty and nobility, an administrative centre, and a place of safety for local people in times of invasion. In ...

Castilla-León
Autonomous community of central Spain; area 94,147 sq km/36,350 sq mi; population (2001 est) 2,479,400. It includes the provinces of Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid, and Zamora. Irrigated land produces wheat, sugarbeets, and potatoes; cattle, sheep, and fighting bulls are bred in the uplands. There...

Castilla-La Mancha
Autonomous community of central Spain; area 79,226 sq km/30,589 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,755,100. It includes the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Toledo. Irrigated land produces mainly cereals, sunflowers, cotton, and vines, especially in the Valdepeñas region, and merino sheep are raised. The cap...

Castile
Kingdom founded in the 10th century, occupying the central plateau of Spain. Its union with Aragón in 1479, based on the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, effected the foundation of the Spanish state, which at the time was occupied and ruled by the Moors. Castile comprised the two great basins separated by the Sierra de Gredos and the Sierra...

caste
A system of stratifying a society into ranked groups defined by marriage, descent, and occupation. Most common in South Asia, caste systems are also found in other societies. such as in Mali and Rwanda. In the past, such systems could be found in Japan, in South Africa under apartheid, and among the Natchez – an American Indian people. The cas...

castanets
Spanish percussion instrument made of two hollowed wooden shells, originally chestnut wood (Spanish castaña). They are held in the palm and drummed together by the fingers to produce a rhythmic accompaniment to dance. Orchestral castanets or `clappers`, mounted on a handle, were employed by silent-film effects ...

Cassivelaunus
Chieftain of the British tribe, the Catuvellauni, who led the British resistance to the Romans under Caesar in 54 BC

Cassatt, Mary
US Impressionist painter and printmaker, active in France. Her colourful pictures of mothers and children show the influence of Japanese prints, as in The Bath (1892; Art Institute, Chicago). She excelled in etching and pastel. Born in Pennsylvania, USA, Cassatt's childhood was spent in France, and after some training at ...

Cassandra
In Greek mythology, Trojan daughter of Priam and Hecuba. Loved by the god Apollo, she was promised the gift of prophecy in return for her favours, but rejected his advances after receiving her powers. Her thwarted lover cursed her prophecies with disbelief, including that of the fall of Troy. Cassandra was eventually captured at the sack of the cit...

Caspian Sea
World's largest inland sea, on the border between Europe and Asia east of the Black Sea, divided between Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. It extends north–south for 1,200 km/745 mi, and its average width is 300 km/186 mi; area about 400,000 sq km/155,000 sq mi, with a maximum depth of 1,000 m/3,25...

Casals, Pablo
(Pau) Catalan cellist, composer, and conductor. He was largely self-taught. As a cellist, he was celebrated for his interpretations of Johann Sebastian Bach's unaccompanied suites. He wrote instrumental and choral works, including the Christmas oratorio The Manger, w...

Casablanca Conference
World War II meeting of the US and UK leaders Roosevelt and Churchill, 14–24 January 1943, at which the Allied demand for the unconditional surrender of Germany, Italy, and Japan was issued

caryatid
Building support or pillar in the shape of a female figure, the name deriving from the Karyatides, who were priestesses at the temple of Artemis at Karyai; the male equivalent is a telamon or atlas

Casablanca
Port, commercial, and industrial centre on the Atlantic coast of Morocco; population (2004) 2,933,700. Casablanca is one of the major ports of Africa, and the industrial and commercial centre of Morocco. Industries include textiles, leather, electronic goods, and processed food; it trades in ...

Carver, George Washington
US agricultural chemist. He devoted his life to improving the economy of the US South and the condition of African-Americans. He advocated the diversification of crops, promoted peanut production, and was a pioneer in the field of plastics. At the Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, Carver demonstrated ...

Caruso, Enrico
Italian operatic tenor. His voice was dark, with full-bodied tone and remarkable dynamic range. In 1902 he starred, with the Australian soprano Nellie Melba, in Puccini's La Bohème/Bohemian Life. He was among the first opera singers to achieve lasting fame through gramophone recordings

cartoon
Humorous or satirical drawing or caricature; a strip cartoon or comic strip; traditionally, the base design for a large fresco, mosaic, or tapestry, transferred to a wall or canvas by tracing or pricking out the design on the cartoon and then dabbing with powdered charcoal to create a faint reproduction. Surviving examples include Leonardo ...

Carthusian order
Roman Catholic order of monks and, later, nuns, founded by St Bruno in 1084 at Chartreuse, near Grenoble, France. Living chiefly in unbroken silence, they ate one vegetarian meal a day and supported themselves by their own labours; the rule is still one of severe austerity

Carthage
Ancient Phoenician port in North Africa founded by colonists from Tyre in the late 9th century BC; it lay 16 km/10 mi north of Tunis, Tunisia. A leading trading centre, it was in conflict with Greece from the 6th century BC, and then with Rome, and was destroyed by Roman forces in 146 BC at the end of the Punic Wars. About 45 BC, Roman colo...

Carter, Jimmy
39th president of the USA 1977–81, a Democrat. Features of his presidency were the return of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama, the introduction of an amnesty programme for deserters and draft dodgers of the Vietnam War, and the Camp David Agreements for peace in the Middle East. During the 1990s he emerged as a mediator and peace negotiator, se...

Cartagena
(Colombia) Historic port, industrial centre, and capital of Bolívar department, on the Caribbean coast of northwest Colombia; population (2005) 845,800. There are petrochemical, textile, and pharmaceutical industries; oil and coffee are exported. The city is also a fashionable tou...

Carroll, Lewis
English author of the children's classics Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1872). Among later works was the mock-heroic narrative poem The Hunting of the Snark&l...

Carrhae, Battle of
Disastrous defeat in 53 BC of the invading Roman governor of Syria Marcus Licinius Crassus by the Parthians at the ancient town of Carrhae, near Haran, Turkey. All but 500 of the 6,000&# 45;strong Roman force was wiped out; the remainder, including Crassus, were captured along with their standards, a grave blow to Roman pride. Crassus himself wa...

Carracci
Three Italian painters, Lodovico Carracci (1555–1619) and his two cousins, the brothers Agostino Carracci (1557–1602) and Annibale Carracci (1560–1609), who founded an influential school of painting in Bologna in the late 16th century, based on close study of the Renaissance masters and also life drawing. The three played a leading r...

carpetbagger
In US history, derogatory name for any of the entrepreneurs and politicians from the North who moved to the Southern states during Reconstruction (1865–77) after the Civil War, to exploit the chaotic conditions for their own benefit. With the votes of newly enfranchised blacks and some local white people (called scalawags), they won posts in n...

Carpentaria, Gulf of
Shallow gulf opening out of the Arafura Sea, between the capes of Arnhem and York, north of Australia; 600 km/373 mi long, 490 km/304 mi wide. The first European to reach it was the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1606 and it was named in 1623 in honour of Pieter Carpentier, governor general of the Dutch East Indies. The most important i...

Carpathian Mountains
Central European mountain system, forming a semicircle through Slovakia–Poland–Ukraine–Moldova–Romani a, 1,450 km/900 mi long. The central Tatra Mountains on the Slovak–Polish frontier include the highest peak, Gerlachovka, 2,663 m/8,737 ft. The Carpathians are rich in minerals and timber, and the cold winters and h...

Carolingian dynasty
Frankish dynasty descending from Pepin the Short (died 768) and named after his son Charlemagne; its last ruler was Louis V of France (reigned 966–87), who was followed by Hugh Capet, first ruler of the Capetian dynasty

Caroline of Brunswick
Queen consort of George IV of Great Britain. King George attempted to divorce her, unsuccessfully, on his accession to the throne in 1820

carrying capacity
In ecology, the maximum number of animals of a given species that a particular habitat can support. If the carrying capacity of an ecosystem is exceeded by overpopulation, there will be insufficient resources and one or more species will decline until an equilibrium, or balance of nature, is restored. Similarly, if the number of species in an envir...

carotene
Naturally occurring pigment of the carotenoid group. Carotenes produce the orange, yellow, and red colours of carrots, tomatoes, oranges, and crustaceans

carbon cycle
Sequence by which carbon circulates and is recycled through the natural world. Carbon is usually found in a carbon compound of one sort or another and so the carbon cycle is really about the cycling of carbon compounds. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by most living organisms as a resu...

camouflage
Click images to enlargeColours or structures that allow an animal to blend with its surroundings to avoid detection by other animals. Camouflage can take the form of matching the background colour, of countershading (darker on top, lighter below, to counteract natural shadows), or of irregular patterns that break up the o...

cavy
Short-tailed South American rodent, family Caviidae, of which the guinea-pig Cavia porcellus is an example. Wild cavies are greyish or brownish with rather coarse hair. They live in small groups in burrows, and have been kept for food since ancient times

cattle
Click images to enlargeAny large, ruminant, even-toed, hoofed mammal of the genus Bos, family Bovidae, including wild species such as the yak, gaur, gayal, banteng, and kouprey, as well as domestic breeds. Asiatic water buffaloes Bubalus, African buffaloes Syncerus
catfish
Fish belonging to the order Siluriformes, in which barbels (feelers) on the head are well-developed, so giving a resemblance to the whiskers of a cat. Catfishes are found worldwide, mainly but not exclusively in fresh water, and are plentiful in South America. The Eastern European giant catfish or wels Silurus glanis grows to...

cat
Small, domesticated, carnivorous mammal Felis catus, often kept as a pet or for catching small pests such as rodents. Found in many colour variants, it may have short, long, or no hair, but the general shape and size is constant – fully-grown cats range from about 51 cm/21 in to about 71 cm/28 in in length. Cats ...

cassowary
Large flightless bird, genus Casuarius, of the family Casuariidae, order Casuariiformes, found in New Guinea and northern Australia, usually in forests. Related to the emu, the cassowary has a bare head with a horny casque, or helmet, on top, and brightly-coloured skin on the n...

caribou
The reindeer of North America

carp
Fish Cyprinus carpio found all over the world. It commonly grows to 50 cm/1.8 ft and 3 kg/7 lb, but may be even larger. It lives in lakes, ponds, and slow rivers. The wild form is drab, but cultivated forms may be golden, or may have few large scales (mirror carp) or be scaleless (leather carp). Koi carp are highly prized...

caracal
Cat Felis caracal related to the lynx. It has long black ear tufts, a short tail, and short reddish-fawn fur. It lives in bush and desert country in Africa, Arabia, and India, hunting birds and small mammals at night. Head and body length is about 75 cm/2.5 ft

capybara
World's largest rodent Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, up to 1.3 m/4 ft long and 50 kg/110 lb in weight. It is found in South America, and belongs to the guinea-pig family. The capybara inhabits marshes and dense vegetation around water. It has thin, yellowish hair, swims well, and can rest underwater with just eyes, e...

capuchin
Monkey of the genus Cebus found in Central and South America, so called because the hairs on the head resemble the cowl of a Capuchin monk. Capuchins live in small groups, feed on fruit and insects, and have a long tail that is semiprehensile and can give support when climbing through the trees. There are now thought to be only 8...

capercaillie
Large bird Tetrao uroqallus of the grouse type, family Tetraonidae, order Galliformes. Found in coniferous woodland in Europe and northern Asia, it is about the size of the turkey and resembles the blackcock in appearance and polygamous habit. The general colour of the male is blackish-grey above, black below, with a dark gre...

canary
Bird (Serinus canaria) of the finch family Fringillidae, found wild in the Canary Islands and Madeira. In its wild state the plumage is green, sometimes streaked with brown. The wild canary builds its nest of moss, feathers, and hair in thick high shrubs or trees, and produces two to four broods in a season. Canaries have been br...

cairn
(dog) Scottish breed of terrier. Shaggy, short-legged, and compact, it can be sandy, greyish brindle, or red. It was formerly used for flushing out foxes and badgers

camel
Click images to enlargeLarge cud-chewing mammal with two toes which have broad soft soles for walking on sand, and hooves resembling nails. Part of the even-toed hoofed order Artiodactyla, it is a ruminant, although it differs from most ruminants in having, only a three-chambered stomach. There are two species...

caecilian
Tropical amphibian of wormlike appearance. There are about 170 species known in the family Caeciliidae, forming the amphibian order Apoda (also known as Caecilia or Gymnophiona). Caecilians have a grooved skin that gives a `segmented` appearance; they have no trace of limbs or pelvis. The body is 20–130 cm/8–50 in long, ...

caddis fly
Insect of the order Trichoptera. Adults are generally dull brown, mothlike, with wings covered in tiny hairs. Mouthparts are poorly developed, and many caddis flies do not feed as adults. They are usually found near water. The larvae are aquatic, and many live in cases, open at both ends, which they make out of sand or plant remains. Some species m...

catkin
In flowering plants (angiosperms), a pendulous inflorescence, bearing numerous small, usually unisexual flowers. The tiny flowers are stalkless and the petals and sepals are usually absent or much reduced in size. Many types of trees bear catkins, including willows, poplars, and birches. Most plants with catkins are wind-pollinated, so the male...

caryopsis
Dry, one-seeded fruit in which the wall of the seed becomes fused to the carpel wall during its development. It is a type of achene, and therefore develops from one ovary and does not split open to release the seed. Caryopses are typical of members of the grass family (Gramineae), including the cereals

carpel
Female reproductive unit in flowering plants (angiosperms). It usually comprises an ovary containing one or more ovules, the stalk or style, and a stigma at its top which receives the pollen. A flower may have one or more carpels, and they may be separate or fused together. Collectively the carpels o...

carotenoid
Any of a group of yellow, orange, red, or brown pigments found in many living organisms, particularly in the chloroplasts of plants. There are two main types, the carotenes and the xanthophylls. Both types are long-chain lipids (fats). Some carotenoids act as accessory pigments in photosynthesis, and in certain algae they are the principal ligh...

capsule
In botany, a dry, usually many-seeded fruit formed from an ovary composed of two or more fused carpels, which splits open to release the seeds. The same term is used for the spore-containing structure of mosses and liverworts; this is borne at the top of a long stalk or seta. Capsules burst open (dehisce) in various ways, including leng...

cambium
In botany, a layer of actively dividing cells (lateral meristem), found within stems and roots, that gives rise to secondary growth in perennial plants, causing an increase in girth. There are two main types of cambium: vascular cambium, which gives rise to secondary xylem and phloem tissues, and cork cambium (or phellogen), which gives rise to...

calyx
Collective term for the sepals of a flower, forming the outermost whorl of the perianth. It surrounds the other flower parts and protects them while in bud. In some flowers, for example, the campions Silene, the sepals are fused along their sides, forming a tubular calyx

callus
(skin) In botany, a tissue that forms at a damaged plant surface. Composed of large, thin-walled parenchyma cells, it grows over and around the wound, eventually covering the exposed area. In animals, a callus is a thickened pad of skin, formed where there is repeated rubbing against a har...

cartilage
Flexible bluish-white connective tissue made up of the protein collagen. In cartilaginous fish it forms the skeleton; in other vertebrates it forms the greater part of the embryonic skeleton, and is replaced by bone in the course of development, except in areas of wear such as bone endings, and the discs between the backbones. It also forms...