Balsam

a kind of resinous oil. There is confusion in the use of the term. The lumberman would be surprised to learn that it is applied to anything but the fragrant, balsam-producing fir tree of his northern woods and swamps. The florist's balsam is the garden touch-me-not. The woodman of Ohio might very possibly sell you a load of resinous poplar as "balsam." Ask a druggist for balsam, and he would be likely to offer a bottle of medicine extracted from a beautiful tree of Peru and Mexico, or else balsam of Tolu from the forests of the Magdalena. Generally speaking, the term applies to a healing, medicinal, resinous oil, and to the several widely different plants producing it. The balsam of the botanist is an herb with alternate leaves, and showy, somewhat clustered, yellow flowers. There are about 220 species, most of which are natives of tropical Asia. They have been introduced into many other countries. Beside being called balsam this herb is also known as jewel-weed, or snap-weed. It grows wild in moist grounds or along brooks or streams from Nova Scotia to Oregon and Alaska, south to Florida and Missouri. The cultivated varieties are of many colors, red, white, or purple, and the flowers are larger than those of the wild species. See Balm Of Gilead