810 SIMARUBEZ. 
sexes. Calyx small, cup-shaped, 5-toothed. Petals 5, spread- 
ing. Male flowers. Stamens 10, rarely 8, equal in length to the 
petals, inserted around the base of a very minute gynophore. Fe- 
male flowers. Ovaries 5, seated on an equal 5-lobed gynophore, 
which is surrounded at the base by short hairy scales, or abor- 
tivestamens. Styles 5, short, distinct at the base, but connected 
in one at the top, crowned bya single 5-lobed stigma. Fruit 
5, drupaceous.—Trees with alternate, pinnate leaves, and alter- 
nate, quite entire leaflets, which are shining above. Racemules 
furnished each with a bractea-like leaf, disposed in axillary and 
terminal panicles ; pedicels furnished with bracteas. Flowers 
small, hoary, or greenish, with their edges sometimes purple. 
Leaves, wood, bark, and root intensely bitter. 
1 S. orricina'uis (D. C. in annal. mus. 17. p. 424. no. 1.) 
flowers monoecious ; male ones decandrous ; stigma 5-lobed ; 
leaves abruptly pinnate; leaflets on short petioles, pubescent 
beneath. h. S. Native of South America, particularly in 
Guiana, Cayenne, and some of the West India islands, in sandy 
places. Quassia Simarùba, Lin. suppl. 234. Woodv. med. bot. 
t.76. Lam. ill. t. 343. f. 2. Simarùba amara, Aubl. guian. 
t. 331. Flowers small, yellowish-white, monoecious, but some 
authors say dioecious. The tree is known in Jamaica by the 
names of Bitter Damson, Mountain Damson, and Slave-wood. Si- 
marouba or Simaruba, in Materia Medica, is the bark of the 
roots of this tree; it was first imported into Europe in 1713. 
This bark, according to Dr. Wright’s account of it, is rough, 
scaly, and warted, the inside, when fresh, is a full yellow, but 
when dry paler; it has but little smell; the taste is bitter, but 
not disagreeable. Macerated in water, or rectified spirits, it 
quickly impregnates both menstrua with its bitterness, and with 
a yellow tincture. It seems to give out its virtue more perfectly 
to cold than to boiling water; the cold infusion being rather 
stronger in taste than the decoction, which last is of a trans- 
parent yellow colour whilst hot, grows turbid and of a reddish- 
brown as it cools. The milky appearance, which Jussieu says 
it communicates to boiling water, Dr. Wright has not observed 
in the decoction of any of the specimens he has examined. 
The bark was first sent from Guiana to France in 1713, to 
the Count de Pornchartrain, then secretary of state, as a remedy 
of great efficacy in dysentery. Inthe years 1718 and 1723, an 
epidemic flux prevailed very generally in France, which resisted 
all the medicines usually employed in such cases ; small doses 
of ipecacuanha, mild purgatives, and all astringents, were found 
to aggravate, rather than to relieve, the disease; under these 
circumstances, recourse was had to the cortex-simaruba, which 
proved remarkably successful, and first established its medical 
character in Europe. Dr. Wright says, “ most authors, who 
have written on the Simarùba agree, that in fluxes it restores 
the lost tone of the intestines, allays their spasmodic motions, 
promotes the secretions by urine and perspiration, removes the 
lowness of the spirits attending dysenteries, and disposes the 
patient to sleep; the gripes and tenesmus are taken off. Ina 
moderate dose it occasions no disturbance or uneasiness, but in 
large doses it produces sickness at the stomach, and vomiting.” 
Modern physicians have found from experience, that this 
medicine is only successful in the third stage of dysentery, where 
there is no fever, where too the stomach is no way hurt, and 
where the gripes and tenesmus are only continued by a weakness 
of the bowels. In such cases Dr. Munro gave two or three 
drops of laudanum, and found it a very useful remedy. The 
late Sir J. Pringle, Dr. Huck Saunders, and many others pre- 
scribed the Cortea-simaruba in old and obstinate dysenteries 
and diarrhoeas, especially those brought from warm climates, 
Fluxes of this sort, which were brought home from the siege of 
Martinique and the Havannah, were completely and speedily 
cured by this bark. Dr. James Lind, at Haslar Hospital, 
1 
II. SrmarvuBa. 
III. Simasa. 
says that the Cortex-simaruba produced these effects sooner 
and more certainly than when given in such quantity as to nau- 
seate the stomach. Dr. Huck Saunders remarks, that if the 
Simaruba did not give relief in three days, he expected little 
benefit from its further use; but others have found it effica- 
cious in fluxes, after a continued use for several weeks. Sir 
James Smith’s own experience convinces him of the efficacy of 
this medicine, and he hopes that the Simarùba-bark will soon be 
more generally used than it is. 
Dr. Wright recommends two drachms of the bark to be boiled 
in twenty-four ounces of water to twelve; the decoction is then 
to be strained, and divided into three equal parts, the whole of 
which is to be taken in twenty-four hours, and when the stomach 
is reconciled to this medicine, the quantity of the bark may be . 
increased to three drachms. To this decoction some join aro- 
matics, others a few drops of laudanum to each dose.—Dr. Cullen 
says, that the virtues ascribed to Simarùba have not been ascer- 
tained by his own experience, or that of the practitioners of 
Scotland. Woodv. med. bot. It is given in powder, in doses of 
half a drachm or a whole drachm ; but it is too bulky and very 
difficultly pulverizable. It is best exhibited in decoction. Two 
drachms of the bark may be boiled in two pounds of water to 
one, and the decoction drunk in cup-fulls in the course of the 
day. (Duncan, edin. disp. p. 452.) 
Officinal Simaruba. Clt. 1789. Tree 60 feet. 
2 S. erav’ca (D.C. in ann. mus. 17. p. 324. no. 2.) flowers 
monoecious ; male ones decandrous ; stigma 5-parted ; leaves ab- 
ruptly-pinnate ; leaflets on short petioles, smooth, glaucous. 
b. S. Native of the Island of Cuba, by the sea-side. 
H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 6. p. 16. This species 1s 
usually confused with the preceding. The glutinous juice of 
the bark is exhibited in cutaneous diseases. 
Glaucous-leaved Simaruba. Tree 40 feet. 
3 S. exce’tsa (D. C. in ann. mus. 17. p. 424. no. 3.) flowers 
polygamous, pentandrous, panicled ; stigma trifid ; leaves impari- 
pinnate ; leaflets opposite, stalked. h. S. Native of Jamaica, in 
woods on the lower mountains, and of other West India islands. 
Quássia excélsa, Swartz in act. holm. 1788. p. 302. t. 8. Quassia 
polygama, Wright in edinb. phil. trans. vol. 3. According to 
the specific character, this plant will probably constitute a dis- 
tinct genus. The tree is lofty, with a very straight trunk; the 
wood whitish, moderately close-grained, very bitter, frequently 
sold by the druggists for the Qudssia amara, and found useful 
in intermittent fevers, debility of the stomach, worms, dropsy, 
and chlorosis. The wood is also used for making cabinets, for 
preserving insects, or other natural curiosities ; being supposed 
inaccessible to insects and worms. Clusters panicled, bearing 
numerous small pale-flowers, some male, the rest hermaphro- 
dite. 
Lofty Simaruba. Clt. 1818. Tree 60 feet. 
4 `S. versi’coror (St. Hil: pl. usu. bras. no. 5. and fl. bras. 
1. p. 70.) flowers dioecious, decandrous, in loose terminal pa- 
nicles; leaflets elliptical-oblong, very blunt, retuse, with the 
mid-rib pubescent. bh. S. Native of Brazil, m the pro- 
vince of Minas Geraes, where it is called Paraiba. Quassia veh 
sicolor, Spreng. syst. app. p. 163. Petals greenish- yellow, with 
purple edges. The inhabitants of the Rio St. Francisco regar 
the bark as very bitter. It is employed with great success 
in curing the bites of serpents. It is also used to cure pedi- 
culous diseases, both in men and horses. 
Party-coloured-flowered Simaruba. Tree 30 feet. 
Cult. See Quássia for culture and propagation, p. 810. 
III. SIMA‘BA (the name of S. Gutanénsis in Guiana), St 
Hil. bull. phil. 1823. p. 129. D. C. prod. 1. p. 733. Arata, 
Juss. in mem. mus. 12. p. 515. t. 27. no. 45. Simaba et 
