The quadratic embedding constant (QEC) of a finite, simple, connected graph $G$ is the maximum of the quadratic form of the distance matrix of $G$ on the subset of the unit sphere orthogonal to the all-ones vector. The study of these QECs was motivated by the classical work of Schoenberg on quadratic embedding of metric spaces [Ann. of Math., 1935] and [Trans. Amer. Math. Soc., 1938]. In this article, we provide sharp upper and lower bounds for the QEC of trees. We next explore the relation between distance spectra and quadratic embedding constants of graphs - and show two further results: $(i)$ We show that the quadratic embedding constant of a graph is zero if and only if its second largest distance eigenvalue is zero. $(ii)$ We identify a new subclass of nonsingular graphs whose QEC is the second largest distance eigenvalue. Finally, we show that the QEC of the cluster of an arbitrary graph $G$ with either a complete or star graph can be computed in terms of the QEC of $G$. As an application of this result, we provide new families of examples of graphs of QE class.