Botanical Name

Quassia amara L. [Simaroubaceae]

Specimen Type

Herbarium Sheet [Preserved Specimen]

Collector

Peder E. Benzon

Collection Date-s

1816 – 1845

Collection Location

St. Croix [U. S. Virgin Islands]

Colonial Context

Danish West Indies 1672–1917

Annotations Determinations and Type Specimen Status

Quassia amara L.; det. Jens W. Hornemann; E. E. 251-5962; …et Cortex ligni surinamensis; Indeholder et Bitterstof Quassin; Surinam

Ownership and Collection Management History

ex herb. Alfred Benzon

Common Names

Bitterwood [English]; Bitter-ask [Danish]

Historical Cultural and Traditional Knowledge

The plant genus Quassia is named after the Black botanist Graman Quassi (1692-1787) who was born in West Africa and both enslaved and emancipated in Dutch Suriname.

Source

Herbarium C NHMD

NHMD Herbarium C Catalogue Number

NHMD00925200

Copyright Owner

Natural History Museum of Denmark

Copyright License

CC BY-NC 4.0 (images) and CC0 (metadata)