Quebracho

quebracho

[kā′bra·chō]

(botany)

Any of a number of South American trees in different genera in the order Sapindales, but all being a valuable source of wood, bark, and tannin.

(materials)

A drilling-fluid additive used for thinning or dispersing in order to control viscosity and thixotropy; made from an extract of the quebracho tree and consisting essentially of tannic acid.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Quebracho

 

the name of several subtropical species of South American trees and of their wood, bark, and tanning extracts. The species Schinopsis balansae and S. quebracho-colorado (also known as S. lorentzii) of the family Anacardiaceae have a hard heavy wood containing approximately 20 percent tannins. The bark of Aspidosperma quebracho-bianco of the family Apocynaceae contains alkaloids (the most active, yohimbine) and approximately 25 percent tannins.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.