quercitron

[Lat. quer ( cus )=an oak, and Eng. citron .] Chem.: A yellow dye stuff, consisting of the shayings of the bark of Quercus tinct or i a . Alum or stannic chloride is employed as a mordant. A finer yellow is said to be obtained when the decoction of the bark is previously boiled with dilute hydrochloric acid, owing probably to the liberation of quercetin. In this country the bark is used for tanning. quer-cŭs, s . [Lat.=an oak.] 1. Bot .: Oak; the typical genus of the sub-order Quercinese (q. v.). Male catkins slender. Styles three, short. From the northern hemisphere; species about 250. About fifty species are American. [OAK.] Quercus suber is the Cork-tree, Q. infector i a is the Gall-oak (q. v.), Q. ilex , the Holly-oak (q.v.). quern Q.ægilops , in the Levant, produces the Valonia acorn imported for dyeing purposes. The leaves of Q. mannifera, in Kurdistan, secrete a saccharine matter; the acorns of the Spanish Q. gramuntia are sweet, and are eaten. The leaves of Q. falcata are astringent, and are used in gangrene. Of American species Q. alba , the White or Quebec-oak, and Q. virens , or Live-oak, yield excellent timber for shipbuilding. From thirty to forty species exist in the hills and mountains of India; some furnish galls, some excellent timber. The bark of many is used for tanning and in medicine. The acorns also po e astringent properties. 2. Palæobot .: Found in the Cretaceous rocks of Aix-la-Chapelle and of this country, and in the Middle Eocene of Bourne mouth, England. *quer'-ele, *quę-rē'-lạ, s . [Lat. querela =a complaint; queror =to complain; Fr. querelle .] [QUARREL (1), 8.] A complaint to a court. quër-ent (1), s. [Lat. querens, pr. par. of queror =to complain.) A complainant, a plaintiff.