Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A genus of plants, of the order Simarubaceæ and tribe Simarubeæ.
- noun [lowercase] A drug, also called
bitter-wood , consisting of the wood of Picræna (Quassia) excelsa, and of two or three related trees; also, a medicinal preparation from these woods.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The wood of several tropical American trees of the order Simarubeæ, as
Quassia amara ,Picræna excelsa , andSimaruba amara . It is intensely bitter, and is used in medicine and sometimes as a substitute for hops in making beer.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun handsome South American shrub or small tree having bright scarlet flowers and yielding a valuable fine-grained yellowish wood; yields the bitter drug quassia from its wood and bark
- noun a bitter compound used as an insecticide and tonic and vermifuge; extracted from the wood and bark of trees of the genera Quassia and Picrasma
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Examples
-
Quassia, one-half pound; Gentian Root, one pound; Iron Sulphate, one pound; pulverize and mix well.
-
Shrub or small tree, Quassia amara, of tropical America, having wood with a bitter taste.
-
-- The quassia wood of the pharmacopoeia was originally the product of _Quassia amara_, a tall shrub, never above fifteen feet high, native of Guiana, but also inhabiting Surinam and Colombia.
-
Steam this slowly for an hour, then add thirty drops Quassia.
-
That sold in the shops is the tough, fibrous, bitter bark of the root of _Simaruba (Quassia) excelsa_ and _officinalis_, very large forest trees, growing in Cayenne, Jamaica, and other parts of the West
-
Quassia acts as a narcotic poison on flies and other insects.
-
In dropsical diseases, I have effected this result most frequently, for years past, by means of Carduus mariæ, less frequently by Quassia, still less frequently by Nux vomica, and only in a few cases by Chelidonium: according as one or the other of these agents seemed indicated by the epidemic character of the disease.
Apis Mellifica or, The Poison of the Honey-Bee, Considered as a Therapeutic Agent
-
Quassia-chips were given to each to steep in water, but carefully tied up in different coloured cotton bags.
-
Shrub or small tree of tropical America, Quassia amara.
The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference
-
Quassia-wood, the acorus calamus, and other bitters and aromatics, were tried; but that which seemed to succeed best was the bark and kernel of the horse-chestnut.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 284, November 24, 1827
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.