Simarouba
(the Carib name of S. amara). Frequently spelt Simaruba. Bitter-wood. ORD. Simarubeae. A small genus (three species) of stove, evergreen trees, natives of Eastern tropical America. Flowers sub-cymose, in axillary and terminal, elongated, branched panicles; calyx small, five-lobed; petals five, spreading at the tips, imbricated. Leaves alternate, abruptly pinnate; leaflets alternate, entire, coriaceous. Probably, the only species grown in this country is S. amara, which yields the drug known as Simaruba-bark. For culture, see Quassia (to which the genus is allied).
S. amara (bitter). Bitter or Mountain Damson; Stavewood. fl. yellowish-white; petals spreading; panicle exceeded by leaves. May. l. oblong or lanceolate-oblong, mucronate, with a bluntish point, green on both sides; leaflets quite glabrous or pubescent beneath. h. (under cultivation) 10ft. West Indies, &c., 1789. (B. M. Pl. 56.) SYN. S. officinalis. S. officinalis (officinal). A synonym of S. amara.