CROSSWORD

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Answers in our October 2018 issue

ACROSS 1 Maize seed-head (7) 5 Central American hummingbird with a striking white forehead; only member of the genus Microchera (7) 9 General term for an aquatic plant of the genus Elodea (9) 10 The ___ tree is a flowering tree in the magnolia family (5) 11 Isolated habitats such as Java and Spitsbergen, perhaps? (7) 12 Country; home to the Nubian ibex and wild ass (7) 13 Vital organ in vertebrates (5) 15 Brittle outer layers that surround baby birds before hatching (9) 17 North American woodpecker that might be yellow-bellied or red-naped (9) 19 Edible leafy plant related to the beets (5) 21 A toxic compound derived from the East-African plant Acokanthera schimperi (7) 23 The ___ wild dog is also known as the painted hunting dog (7) 25 Genus of gliding lizards sometimes called flying dragons (5) 26 Songbird of the weaver family – could be fan-tailed or white-winged (9) 27 Long, thin leaves of a conifer (7) 28 Folk-name for the red fox (7)

DOWN

1 Slow-moving, heavy-scaled fish of the family Ostraciidae with long horns that protrude from its head (7) 2 Another name for honey badger (5) 3 The buff-tailed ___ is a South American species of hummingbird (7)

4 Reddish-brown bracket fungus, sometimes called ox tongue (9)

5 The ___ warbler is a streaky migrant songbird with a chattering song (5) 6 Large, flightless bird (7) 7 Genus of green algae (9) 8 Trees of the genus Populus, with drooping catkins (7) 14 In social animals, a dominant individual (5, 4) 16 Perennial plant that could be sticky, often food for caterpillars (9) 17 Welsh mountain and nature reserve in Gwynedd, home to plants including the lily Gagea serotina (7) 18 Large, nocturnal predatory bird of the genus Strix, native to northern Asia and Scandinavia (4, 3) 19 Plant with feathery leaves and crescent-shaped seeds, also called Persian cumin (7) 20 Of a landscape, stripped of vegetation or other life (7) 22 Efts (5) 24 Country to which the giant panda is native (5)