_Quassia._
This wood owes all its properties to a peculiar bitter principle, which
has been examined by Dr. Thomson and named _Quassin_; it is solid,
slightly transparent, and of a yellowish-brown colour. (_See Infusum
Quassiæ_.) It is said to owe its name to a West Indian negro, called
Quassi, who first used it in fevers.