Picrasma quassioides Seeds | Quassia Root Slice
LATIN NAME: Picrasma quassioides
COMMON NAME: Quassia
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Quassia, Picrasma quassioides is a small tree. Quassia is a fine, bitter, valuable small tree of warm woodlands, and its pale, close-grained wood has a long and careful record of use in practice and industry of the region. Open, round-headed tree carries pinnate leaves of glossy, oval leaflets, and small, greenish flowers open in loose panicles through warm season, to be followed by small, round, red-black fruits. Wood and bark have a very long record of use, and plant is a fine, easy, valuable tree of warm, sheltered garden. The flowering period doubles as a feeding season for bees and other pollinators. Put simply, this is a rewarding species for anyone willing to give it a suitable spot.
Science & Biotechnology
This small East Asian tree is one of the most intensely bitter plants in commerce, its wood yielding quassinoids — degraded triterpenes related to the quassin of the West Indian Picrasma and Quassia used to denature alcohol and flavour bitter aperitifs. Quassinoids show antifeedant, insecticidal and antiparasitic activity, and the wood is a listed bitter drug in East Asian pharmacopoeias for dysentery and loss of appetite. The quassinoid pathway has also been explored for antimalarial leads. In the garden it is a graceful, little-grown tree with fine autumn colour.
Research touching on Picrasma quassioides ranges from the botany of the Picrasma group to practical horticulture, including seed handling, propagation and the selection of superior forms. Quassia has a strong and well-documented place in plant science, and wood and bark have been studied for a long time for their intensely bitter principles and their place in traditional practice of the region. Little about its garden performance is mysterious; it has been grown and observed for a very long time.
Uses & Benefits
Quassia works well in borders, containers and dedicated beds. Quassia is grown for fine, pale, bitter wood. Wood and bark have a very long record of use in practice of region, and bitter infusions have been used for a long time in old ways of household and the garden. Open, round-headed tree is a fine, easy addition to warm, sheltered garden, and small, red-black fruits are a food for the birds. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
Quassia wood is among the bitterest substances known, a classical bitter for digestion and a traditional insect-repelling wood; its quassinoids are studied for antimicrobial activity.
Growing from Seed
Starting Quassia from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly into a loose, well-drained seed compost, water in gently, and keep the sowing in bright light with steady moisture. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Within its genus it stands out for garden reliability. The traditional uses covered above are what first made this species worth cultivating. Fresh seed sown into evenly moist compost is most of the battle won.
Related Reading
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