Casuarin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tannin-like compound extracted from the bark and leaves of casuarina trees, used in chemical and botanical research
2. An astringent plant chemical found in the wood and bark of the casuarina genus of trees
3. A hydrolysable tannin isolated from casuarina trees, studied for its astringent and biochemical properties

Etymology: The name starts with a bird. The cassowary, a large flightless bird of New Guinea and nearby islands, bears a name borrowed from Malay, "kasuari." Its tree relatives, the casuarinas of Australia and Southeast Asia, have feathery, jointed green branchlets that hang down in a way that resembles the bird's shaggy plumage, and that resemblance is the usual explanation for the genus name "Casuarina," which Linnaeus used. Casuarin is a chemical name built on that genus. The "-in" ending is the conventional suffix chemists attach to substances isolated from a plant or animal source, so the name points to a tannin found in casuarina trees. Its exact history as a named compound is a matter of chemical literature rather than everyday English, so the word is best read as a technical coinage from the genus name plus that standard suffix.