Author:
Qjure
Book:
Qjurious
Type:
Info
Chapter:
3-655.56.12
Quassia amara
English: Amargo; Bitter-ash; Bitter-wood; Amargo; Bitter ash; Bitterholz; Bitterwood; Bois amer; Bois de quassia; Crucete; Quassia; Cuassia; Fliegenholz; Guabo; Hombre grande; Jamaica bark; Kashshing; Marauba; Marupa; Palo muneco; Pau amarelo; Quassia amarga; Quassiawood; Ruda; Simaruba; Simarubabaum; Quassiaholz; Quassia de cayenne; Quassie; Quina; Simaba; Suriname wood.
Synonym: Picrania excelsa.
Spanish: Hombre grande.
Synonyms: Quassia alatifolia; Quassia officinalis; Quassia amargo, Simaroube officinale.
Genus: from 1 to 40 species.
Region: Southern America, Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, Central America, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Northern South America, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Western South America, Colombia, Argentina.
Habitat: understorey; neotropic rainforests and humid sites, Amazon rainforest; abundant in young forests; from sea level to 900 m; dry lands or in riparian lands with high humidity permanent; medium, loamy and heavy clay soils; prefers rich soils; sensitive to frost, salt, draught; semi-sciophyte, high tolerance to shade conditions but with a requirement of direct exposure to sunlight.
Content: over 30 phytochemicals, quassin, quassimarin; quassin, neoquassin, of the most bitter substances in nature; beta-carbolines, beta-sitostenone, beta-sitosterol, dehydroquassins, gallic acid, gentisic acid, hydroxyquassins, isoparain, isoparaines, isoquassins, malic acid, methylcanthins, methoxycanthins, methoxycantins, nigakilactone A, nor-neoquassin, parain, paraines, quassialactol, quassimarin, quassinol, quassol; simalikalactone, an antimalarial.
Use: bark and wood for Angostura bitters, flavouring in longdrinks, soft drinks, digestive tonics, gin-based drinks, substitute for hops, baked goods; Indian medicine, the Ayurvedic medicine; insecticide, against insect pests, aphids, Colorado potato beetle, Anthonomus pomorum, Rhagoletis cerasi, Caterpillars of Tortricidae, moths, potato beetle, apple blossom veevil, thephtid fruit fly; ornamental.
Botany
Attractive, small, evergreen shrub or tree; slow growing; up to 6 metres tall.
Stem: multistemmed; disorderly growth twiggy limbs.
Leaves: pinnate, with 3-5 leaflets, deeply veined, polished alternated dark green leaves are 15 to 25 cm long; broadly winged axis; reddish veins; rachis winged.
Inflorescence: terminal, red-branched racemes of panicles; 10 to 30 cm long.
Flowers: narrow; vivid crimson, bright red outside, white inside; 2 to 4 cm long; petals 5, lanceolate, forming a sharpening cylinder; open for two days; fragile, sometimes fall at the slightest touch.
Fruit: five small eliptic, fleshy, purple black drupes; 1 to 2 cm long; red when mature; contains one small seedling.
Pollination: by hummingbirds, other birds, Trigona, Apidea; self-compatible.