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CARSOH, J. 
or Q,rASSIA MS&k, LIlTiTASUS, Jtaer. Jour. Phrj-n. (n.s.l4) 20; 
The Q,'aassia rinrj'a "belongF to the family Siinaru"beae 
(Hichard) or Simarubaceae (lindley), the essential 
characters of which are "briefly given. This is a small 
family, and a renarkalDle analog/ exists among all its 
laembers. They have been found to contain a bitter, toxic 
principle, upon v;hich their medical properties depend. This 
is the same in all, and has been called quassin from the 
generic name _Qu-r.. sr,la . 
The generic and specific chrT.ncterintics of Quas si a 
acara axe discusf^cd. It is a snail tree 6 to 10 feet high 
straight, irregularly branched, with ash-colorod, smooth ba.rk. 
The leaves ajre sparse, smooth pinna.te; the lca.flots sessile, 
in pairs, usually two vrith an odd one, entire, elliptical, 
axjute, reticulated, a, little revolutc on the margin, 
of a deep green, with a reddening of the veins above, 
and lighter beneath; petiole winged, with tlic joints 
cuncato. Racemes long, simple, terminal. Flowers large, 
scarlet, with short pedicles and a recurved bract at base. 
The fruit is black and ovoid, dn-.paceous. This plant is 
a native of Surinam, Guiana, and other parts of South 
Anerica and is cultivated in the West IndiOo, 
At the tim'5 of the sojourn of Eolander, a Swedish 
natiiralist, In Surinam, a negro by the name of Quassi was 
in the h?.bit of treating the fevers of the country with 
the root. The na,turalist procured some of this and took 
it to Europe about 1756, He supposed i t to be derived 
from Zygophyllum aastivans (family Eutaceac) . Eowever, 
Dahlberg, a military officer, had the tree pointed out 
to him and after cultivatirig it in his garden transmitted 
specimens of the organs of fructification to Linnaeus, 
who determined the true position under the najne Q,uassia amara. 
The first fu].l specific account, with a drawing, v/as pub- 
lished by Blom, in an inau^ral essay, in the jfcoenitates 
Academiae for 1763, v. 6, 
According to Poreira, Formin mentions that about 1714 
the flowers were highly valued in Surinam for their stomachic 
properties. In 1730 the root is said to have been found 
in the collection of Seba, a celebrated spice dealer of 
Amsterdam, Hallor refers to it as having boon well known 
in 1743. That Quassia was known as a remedy long before the 
tree was described is evident from the statement of Blom 
that Lir-naeus lectured on the virtues of the wood. Sut 
whether this knowledge dates farther back than the return 
