Quassia amara
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Bitterwood tree ( Quassia amara ), illustration |
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| Quassia amara | ||||||||||||
| L. |
The Quassia Amara , Brazilian Quassiabaum , Quassiabaum , Quassiaholzbaum , Bitterquassia or as some other species also bitter wood called, is a flowering plant in the family of simaroubaceae (Simaroubaceae). It is widespread in the Neotropics . As Quassia both the tree and are extracted from the wood extracts referred. It is also used as an ornamental wood in the tropics.
description
Quassia amara grows as a small tree that can reach heights of up to 6 meters. The alternately arranged and stalked leaves are pinnate unpaired. On the winged, partly reddish leaf rhachis there are a few, whole- edged , pointed and mostly sessile , mostly pointed, obovate to elliptical or spatulate, whole-edged, leathery leaflets . Quassia amara has in terminal and reddish, long, racemose inflorescences standing red or flesh-colored, cone-shaped, stalked, relatively large, hermaphrodite and five-fold flowers with a double inflorescence . The chalice is small with pointed tips. The eilanzettlichen petals are twisted into each other. There are 10 long, protruding stamens , the stamens are flattened at the base, hook-shaped and bearded. The ovary with almost free carpels , on a fleshy, cylindrical disc ( gynophore ), is on top with a long stylus with a small, cephalic scar .
There are collective drupes , 2-5 individual fruits, on a red and fleshy flower cups formed. The blackish, single and egg-shaped to ellipsoidal, smooth, about 1–1.5 centimeters long stone fruit contains an ellipsoid stone core.
use
The leaves, the wood and the bark are used medicinally.
Due to the various ingredients (e.g. quassin ), quassia is used as a remedy for loss of appetite, digestive problems, stomach, intestinal and biliary problems. On the other hand, it is also used as an insecticide ( pesticide ). The common name "fly wood" comes from this area of application.
Picrasma species, which are also referred to as flywood or bitterwood, are used in a similar way.
Occurrence
Quassia amara is native to Costa Rica , Nicaragua , Panama , Brazil , Peru , Venezuela , Suriname , Colombia , French Guiana , Guyana and Trinidad . It thrives in the tropical rainforest .
It is grown in some tropical areas of the world, for example in western Africa.
Taxonomy
The first publication of Quassia amara was carried out in 1762 by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum , 2nd edition, Vol 1, p 553. It is the type species of the genus Quassia . Synonyms for Quassia amara L. are: Quassia alatifolia Stokes , Quassia amara fo. paniculata (Engl.) Cronquist , Quassia amara var. grandiflora Hemsl. , Quassia amara var. Paniculata Engl. , Quassia officinalis Rich. The epithet amargo is Spanish and means bitter, this refers to the very bitter taste.
literature
- Gerhard Madaus : Textbook of biological remedies. 1938: Quassia amara. Bitterwood. Simarubaceae. : online at Henriettes Herbal.
- Thomas B. Croat: Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Stanford University Press, 1978, ISBN 0-8047-0950-5 , p. 494.
Web links
- Quassia amara at Useful Tropical Plants.
- Amargo ( Quassia amara ) at Raintree Nutrition.
- Quassia amara at Botany Department of University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (detailed images of the flowers).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Quassia amara in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ^ GA Buchheister, G. Ottersbach: Handbuch der Drogisten-Praxis. First part, Springer, 1919, p. 178.
- ↑ First publication scanned at biodiversitylibrary.org .
- ↑ Quassia amara at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
