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QUASSIA

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 718 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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QUASSIA , the generic name given by See also:

Linnaeus to a smallor five pairs, with a terminal See also:odd one, of See also:short-stalked, oblong, See also:blunt, leathery leaflets, and inconspicuous See also:green See also:flowers. The See also:fruit consists of See also:black shining drupes about the See also:size of a See also:pea. It is found also in other See also:West See also:Indian islands, as See also:Antigua and St See also:Vincent. Quassia amara is a See also:shrub or small See also:tree belonging to the same natural See also:order as Picraena, viz. Simarubaceae, but is readily distinguished by its large handsome red flowers arranged in terminal clusters. It is a native of See also:Panama, See also:Venezuela, See also:Guiana and See also:northern See also:Brazil. See also:Jamaica quassia is imported into See also:England in logs several feet in length and often nearly one See also:foot in thickness, consisting of pieces of the See also:trunk and larger branches. The thin greyish bark is usually removed. The See also:wood is nearly See also:white, or of a yellowish tint, but sometimes exhibits blackish markings due to the mycelium of a fungus, The wood has a pure See also:bitter See also:taste, and is without odour or aroma. It is usually to be met with in the See also:form of turnings or raspings, the former being obtained in the maufacture of the " bitter cups " which are made of this wood. The See also:chief constituent is a bitter neutral principle known as quassin. It exists in the wood to the extent of about -N%.

It forms crystalline needles soluble in alkalis, See also:

chloroform and 200 parts of See also:water. There is also See also:present a volatile oil. The wood contains no See also:tannin, and for this See also:reason quassia, like chiretta and calumba, may be preserved with See also:iron. The infusion is useful as a bitter tonic—a See also:group of substances of which calumba is the type—and is also a very efficient anthelmintic for the threadworm (Oxyuris vermicularis). It is toted by brewers as a substitute for hops.

End of Article: QUASSIA

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