Quassia

The quassia is a lofty deciduous tree that usually grows up to 100 feet or 30 meters and has a even gray bark and bears multiple leaves from the branches. The flowers of quassia are yellow in color, while its fruits are black in color and shaped like peas.

The quassia is an ash like tree that is indigenous to Jamaica and many other islands of the West Indies. The tree which normally grows to 100 feet bears compound or composite leaves that are like pinnates or resembling a feather. Furthermore, the compound leaves bear numerous piercing leaflets. On the other hand, the tree bears eye-catching bunches of flowers that are yellow colored. Since ages, the West Indians used the timber of quassia to make quassia cups that were filled with water and left to remain untouched for considerable period of time. They drank the resin colored water to treat ailments such as stomach upset, loss of appetite as well as fever. The West Indians also prepared more potent mixtures by adding finely chopped chips of the quassia wood and steeping them in water. These potent mixtures were normally used in enemas (liquids inserted through the rectum into the bowels) to eliminate parasitic threadworms. Such strong mixtures were also used as vital ingredients of lotions to avoid lice on the body.