Quassia Amara

One of the bitterest plants known, a tropical American shrub used in homoeopathy as a stomach tonic for weak, sluggish, gassy digestion.

Quassia amara is a small evergreen shrub or tree of the quassia family from Central and northern South America and the Caribbean, with bright crimson flowers. Its pale wood contains quassin, one of the most bitter substances found in nature. Clarke notes that the related Jamaica quassia was used in the same way.

Classic texts describe it as a tonic for the stomach. Homoeopaths traditionally turn to it for weak, sluggish digestion with gas and acidity, heartburn and regurgitation of food, especially after an illness such as flu, and for aching and stitches in the liver region. In folk medicine the bitter wood was also used against worms.

• Sluggish digestion
• Wind and acidity
• Heartburn
• Liver discomfort