[syn: paradise tree, bitterwood, Simarouba glauca]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bitterwood \Bit"ter*wood`\, n.
A West Indian tree (Picr[ae]na excelsa) from the wood of
which the bitter drug Jamaica quassia is obtained.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
bitterwood
n 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 [syn: quassia, bitterwood, Quassia
amara]
2: West Indian tree yielding the drug Jamaica quassia [syn:
Jamaica quassia, bitterwood, 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 [syn: paradise
tree, bitterwood, Simarouba glauca]