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Glite Dictionary
Quassia amara

Quassia amara

9.9
A small South American tree with bright red flowers whose bitter wood people use to kill insects and make medicines
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Quassia amara
  • The bright scarlet flowers of Quassia amara make it an attractive ornamental plant for gardens.

Examples

  • Traditional herbalists use the bark and wood of Quassia amara to prepare bitter tonics.

  • Extracts from Quassia amara are often used as a natural insecticide in organic farming.

  • The Quassia amara tree thrives in tropical climates.

  • Many herbalists use Quassia amara for its medicinal properties.

  • The bright scarlet flowers of Quassia amara make it an attractive ornamental plant for gardens.

  • Extracts from Quassia amara are often used as a natural insecticide in organic farming.

  • Traditional herbalists use the bark and wood of Quassia amara to prepare bitter tonics.

Synonyms

bitterwood
vsQuassia amara
1 9.5

A tropical tree or shrub with very bitter wood used to make traditional medicine

is more specific referring to a particular South American plant used medicinally
quassia
vsQuassia amara
  • Specialized
9.9

A small tropical tree with red flowers whose wood makes a bitter liquid

is the same species noted as a source of a bitter medicinal extract

Surface Forms

Quassia amara singular
Quassia amaras plural

Morphology

quassia + amara

This is a scientific binomial: if a learner knows 'quassia' (a tropical shrub) they can infer the MWE refers to that plant, so part of the meaning (that it is a plant) is recoverable. However 'amara' is a Latin species epithet (not a familiar English word here) and the fuller sense (e.g. the bitter/drug sense) is not predictable to a B1 learner without exposure or knowledge of Latin botanical naming, so the relation is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Quassia amara is named after Graman Quassi, a Surinamese man who used the shrub as a medicine, and the second word amara is Latin for 'bitter'. So the name points to the plant's very bitter wood and explains why people use it today for bitter medicines and as a natural insect killer.