quassia meaning and definition

QUASSIA noun

Definition of quassia (noun)

1. a bitter compound used as an insecticide and tonic and vermifuge; extracted from the wood and bark of trees of the genera Quassia and Picrasma
2. handsome South American shrub or small tree having bright scarlet flowers and yielding a valuable fine-grained yellowish wood; yields the bitter drug quassia from its wood and bark
   • synonyms: bitterwood, Quassia amara