QUASSIA  , the generic name given by

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

chloroform and 200 parts of water . There is also present a volatile oil . The wood contains no tannin, and for this reason quassia, like chiretta and calumba, may be preserved with iron . The infusion is useful as a bitter tonic—a 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 .