25S ON QUASSIA AMARA. 
generic name Quassia, been called Quassin. A milky 
juice is said to exude from the bark. They are tropical 
plants, and are found in the eastern and western hemi- 
spheres. 
Quassia amara belongs to Decandria, Monogynia, Lin. 
General Char. i^/oz^er5 hermaphrodite. Ca/ya? short, 
persistent, prominent, with five deep divisions. Petals 
five, much longer, arranged in a tubular form, twisted in 
aestivation. Stamens long, exserted, provided at base 
with a hairy scale. Ovaries five, placed on a broad recep- 
tacle. Styles five-partite below, but united into a long 
exserted one with a five-furrowed stigma. Fruit drupa- 
ceous. 
Specific Char. — A small tree, from six to ten feet high, 
straight, irregularly branched, with an ash coloured, smooth 
bark. The leaves are sparse, occupying generally the 
summit of the branches, very smooth, pinnate ; leaflets 
sessile, in pairs, usually two with an odd one, entire, ellip- 
tical, acute, reticulated, a little re volute on the margin, of a 
deep green, with a reddening of the veins above, and 
lighter beneath ; petiole winged, with the joints cuneate. 
Racemes long, simple, terminal. Flowers large, scarlet, 
with short pedicels and a recurved bract at base. The fr^iit 
is black and ovoid. 
This plant is a native of Surinam, Guiana, and other 
parts of South America. It is cultivated in the West Indies. 
A specimen in our possession came from the garden of Dr. 
Stevens, of St. Cruz. 
The merit of having first directed the attention of the 
scientific world to the virtues of the plant, by some authori- 
ties has been awarded to Mr. Rolander, by others to Mr. 
Dahlberg. It appears that a negro by the name of Quassi, 
at the time of Mr. Rolander's (a Swedish naturalist) sojourn 
in Surinam, was in the habit of treating the fevers of the 
country with the root. This was procured by him, and 
taken to Europe about the year 1756. He supposed that 
