spicebush Deciduous, dense shrub (Lindera benzoin, or Benzoin aes- tivale) of the iaurel family, native to eastern North America. Found most often in damp woods, it grows 5-20 ft (1.5-6 m) tall. The shiny, oblong leaves (3-5 in., or 8-13 cm, long) are wedge-shaped near the base. Small, yellow flowers crowded in small, nearly stalkless clusters are followed by fleshy red fruit with a stony cov¬ ering around the seed. Tea is some¬ times brewed from young twigs, leaves, and fruit.
spider Any of some 34,000 preda¬ tory arachnid species, mostly terres¬ trial, in the order Araneida, abundant worldwide except in Antarctica. Spi¬ ders have two main body parts, eight legs, two pincerlike venomous appendages, and three pairs of spinnerets. Species range in length from 0.5 to about 90 mm (0.02 to 3.5 inches). The venom of a few species (e.g., brown recluse) is harmful to humans. Most species catch insect prey in a web of silk extruded from the spinnerets. Spiders change little dur¬ ing growth, except in size. Species are classified largely on the basis of the number and arrangement of eyes and the type of web. See also black widow; tarantula; wolf spider.
Sphalerite from Baxter Springs, Kan.
COURTESY OF THE TED AND ELSIE BOENTE COLLECTION; PHOTOGRAPH, JOHN H. GERARD-EB INC.
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin).
WALTER CHANDOHA
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
spider crab ► spinning I 1801
spider crab Any species of sluggish marine crab in the widely distrib¬ uted family Majidae (or Maiidae).
Spider crabs have a beak-shaped head; thick, rounded body; and long, spindly legs. They use a mucuslike mouth secretion to fasten algae, sponges, and other organisms to the hairs, spines, and knobby projections covering the body. Most species are scavengers, especially of carrion.
Their size varies greatly. The body of the European long-beaked spider crab (Macropodia rostrata ) is less than 0.5 in. (1 cm) in diameter, whereas the Japanese giant crab (Macrocheira kaempferi), whose outstretched claws can measure 13 ft (4 m) from tip to tip, is perhaps the largest known arthropod.
spider mite or red spider Any plant-feeding mite in the family Tet- ranychidae, common pests on houseplants and agriculturally important plants. Adult spider mites are tiny, about 0.02 in. (0.5 mm) long, and often red. They spin a loose silk webbing on infested plants. A heavy infesta¬ tion can cause complete defoliation. Because of their increasing resistance to pesticides, they are difficult to control. One effective control is the use of another, predatory, mite species.
spider monkey Any of four species (family Cebidae) of diurnal, arbo¬ real New World monkeys found from Mexico to Brazil. Long-limbed and somewhat potbellied, they are 14-26 in. (35-66 cm) long and have thumb¬ less hands and a heavily furred, prehensile 24-36-in. (60-92-cm) tail. The coat is gray, reddish, brown, or black. They swing through branches, using their tails and hands, or leap or drop spread-eagled from tree to tree. They eat fruit, nuts, flowers, and buds. They are used in laboratory studies of malaria, to which they are susceptible. Though sometimes kept as pets, adults are likely to throw tantrums and may be dangerous.
spider plant African plant of genus Chlorophytum (lily family). This popular houseplant has long, narrow, grassy green-and-white-striped leaves. Periodically a flower stem emerges, and tiny white flowers (not always produced) are replaced by young plantlets, which can then be detached and rooted.
spiderwort Any of 20 or more erect to trailing, weak-stemmed herbs native to North and South America that make up the genus Tradescantia (family Commelinaceae). Several species are grown as indoor plants in baskets, especially the wandering Jews ( T. albiflora, with green leaves, and T. fluminensis, with purplish underleaves). White velvet, or white- gossamer ( T. sillamontana ), has leaves and stems covered with a whitish fuzz. Chain plant ( T. navicularis) has fleshy, narrow, lengthwise-folded leaves. Common spiderwort, or widow’s tears ( T. virginiana), is an upright, juicy-stemmed garden plant with white to purple flowers. Because they are easy to propagate, spiderworts are very popular indoor plants.
Spiegel, Der \der-'shpe-g3l\ German "The Mirror" Weekly news¬ magazine, preeminent in Germany and one of the best and most widely circulated in Europe. Founded in 1946 as Diese Woche (“This Week”) and published in Hamburg since 1947, it is respected both for its news coverage and analysis and for its concise writing. It is especially renowned for its aggressive exposes of government malpractice and scandals and for its photography. It resembles Time and Newsweek in format but is usu¬ ally much thicker.
Spielberg, Steven (b. Dec. 18, 1947, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) U.S. film director and producer. He attracted the attention of Universal Pictures with a short film he made about the time of his graduation from California State College, Long Beach (1970). As a director of television movies, he made the thriller Duel (1971), and in 1974 he directed the feature film The Sugarland Express. His shark-attack thriller Jaws (1975) became one of the highest-grossing movies ever, and he went on to direct huge suc¬ cesses such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and E.T.—the Extraterrestrial (1982). He received Acad¬ emy Awards for directing Schindler’s List (1993), which tells the story of a group of Polish Jews who avoided Nazi extermination camps through the heroic actions of a German industrialist, and Saving Private Ryan (1998), which followed American soldiers in the days after the Normandy
invasion of 1944. His other movies include The Color Purple (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Jurassic Park (1993), A.I.: Artificial Intelli¬ gence (2001), and Minority Report (2002). In 1994 he cofounded Dream¬ Works SKG, a film, animation, and television production company.
Spillane, Mickey orig. Frank Morrison Spillane (b. March 9, 1918, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. writer of pulp detective fiction. He ini¬ tially wrote for pulp magazines and comic books in order to pay for his schooling. His first novel, I, The Jury (1947), introduced the detective Mike Hammer, who later appeared in works from My Gun Is Quick ( 1950) to Black Alley (1996). His other novels, all characterized by violence and sexual licentiousness, include The Deep (1961), a series with the interna¬ tional agent Tiger Mann beginning with Day of the Guns (1964), and The Killing Man (1989). Spillane claimed to write solely for monetary gain and flouted literary taste with recurring elements of sadism that disturbed some readers, but the captivating vigour of his narrative and of his cen¬ tral characters brought him popular success.
spin Amount of angular momentum associated with a subatomic particle or nucleus. It is measured in multiples of h (h-bar), equal to Planck’s con¬ stant divided by 27 t. Electrons, neutrons, and protons have a spin of Vi, for example, while pions and helium nuclei have zero spin. The spin of a complex nucleus is the vector sum of the orbital angular momentum and intrinsic spins of the constituent nucleons. For nuclei of even mass num¬ ber, the multiple is an integral; for those of odd mass number, it is a half¬ integer. See also Bose-Einstein statistics, Fermi-Dirac statistics.
spinach Hardy, leafy annual (Spinacia oleracea) of the goosefoot fam¬ ily (Chenopodiaceae), used as a vegetable. The edible leaves, somewhat triangular and either flat or puckered, are arranged in a rosette, from which a seedstalk emerges. Spinach requires cool weather and deep, rich, well- limed soil to give quick growth and maximum leaf area; sowing seed every two weeks from early spring to late summer provides a steady sup¬ ply. A nutritious vegetable, spinach is rich in iron and vitamins A and C.