1. Handsome South American shrub or small tree having bright scarlet flowers and yielding a valuable fine-grained yellowish wood; yields the bitter drug quassia from its wood and bark
   "The bright scarlet flowers of the bitterwood tree attract hummingbirds";
   - quassia, Quassia amara
    
2. West Indian tree yielding the drug Jamaica quassia
   "bitterwood bark is traditionally used as a medicinal bitter";
   - Jamaica quassia, Picrasma excelsa, Picrasma excelsum
    
3. Medium to large tree of tropical North and South America having odd-pinnate leaves and long panicles of small pale yellow flowers followed by scarlet fruits
   "The bitterwood's scarlet fruits stand out against its dark green foliage";
   - paradise tree, Simarouba glauca

Derived forms: bitterwoods

Type of: bitterwood tree

Part of: genus Picrasma, genus Quassia, genus Simarouba, Picrasma, Simarouba

Encyclopedia: Bitterwood