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Possible definitions for xylene

Cyrene
Ancient city, N Africa. It was founded c.630 BC by a group of emigrants from the island of Thera. Their leader, Battus, became the first king; his dynasty ruled until c.440 BC. Under the aegis of Ptolemaic Egypt (from 323 BC), Cyrene became one of the great intellectual centers of the classical world, boasting such scholars as Eratosthenes and Aristippus, founder of the Cyrenaics. Taken by the Romans in 96 BC, it later declined and with the Arab conquest of AD 642 ceased to exist. Areas of the old city have been excavated, uncovering impressive ruins.


Pyrenees
Mountain range, SW Europe. It extends 270 mi (430 km) from the Mediterranean Sea to the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean. It forms a high wall between France and Spain. Generally, the crest of the range marks the boundary between the two countries. The tiny, autonomous principality of Andorra lies among its peaks. The highest point is Aneto Peak, at 11,169 ft (3,404 m) tall. There are few passes through the mountains. The pass at Roncesvalles was made famous in the 12th-cent. Chanson de Roland, based on the Battle of Roncesvalles (778).


Selene
In Greek and Roman religion, the goddess that personified the moon. Her parents were the Titans Hyperion and Theia; her siblings were Helios and Eos, the goddess of dawn. Selene fell in love with Endymion, a handsome young shepherd; her husband Zeus cast Endymion into eternal sleep, but she visited him in the cave where he slept, and he fathered her 50 daughters. In art Selene is often represented as a woman with the crescent moon on her head. As Luna she had temples in Rome on the Aventine and Palatine hills.


xylem
Part of a plant's vascular system that conveys water and dissolved minerals from the roots to the rest of the plant and furnishes mechanical support. Xylem constitutes the major part of a mature woody stem or root and the wood of a tree, and consists of specialized water-conducting tissues made up mostly of several types of narrow, elongate, hollow cells. Xylem formation begins when the actively dividing cells of growing root and shoot tips give rise to primary xylem. Eventually the primary xylem is covered by secondary xylem produced by the cambium. The primary xylem cells die, forming a hard skeleton that supports the plant but loses its conducting function. Thus, only the outer part of the wood (secondary xylem) serves in water conduction.

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