Balsam fir

Abies balsamea

Balsam tree - a majestic tree with a conical shape that can attain a height of 66 feet (20 meters). The trunk is covered with a smooth, grayish bark and dotted with resin-filled vesicles. The grayish green branches are adorned with flat, dark evergreen needles on the top, that are whitish underneath.

An excellent Christmas tree (balsam fir) by virtue of its spicy, delicious fragrance and its ability to hold its needles long after it has been cut, balsam fir goes back further in history than the mid-19th-century introduction of the Christmas tree to North America. Balsam fir was a veritable dispensary for the American Indians, for whom almost every part of this tree supplied a different medicine. The aromatic resin served them as a salve for cuts, sores, and burns, and they also took it internally for colds, coughs, and asthma. The resin was effective enough to attract the attention of frontier doctors; eventually it found its way into the U.S. Pharmacopoeia. The inner bark, brewed into a tea, served as a remedy for chest pains, while the twigs, when steeped in water, acted as a laxative. Indians also held bits of the root in the mouth for mouth sores. They managed to use even the needles. Sweat baths, the Indians' saunas, were scented by handfuls of balsam needles on live coals; the bathers inhaled the vapors to clear up the congestion of colds and coughs. The leaves, cones, and resin are commonly added to potpourri.

Although balsam fir no longer has a place in established or folk medicine, its esthetic value is undiminished - about 13 percent of all Christmas trees sold each year are balsam firs.

Other names

• Canada Balsam
• Christmas Tree
• Fir
• Fir Balsam
• Fir Pine
• Sapin
• Silver Fir
• Silver Pine

Parts used

Whole branches, outer and inner bark, gum

Uses

Balsam fir is an antiseptic and stimulant, and  has been used in North America and Europe for congestion, chest infections such as bronchitis, and urinary tract conditions such as cystitis and frequent urination. Externally, balsam fir was rubbed on the chest or applied as a plaster for respiratory infections. Balsam fir is not used much in herbal medicine today.

Habitat & cultivation

Native to North America, balsam fir is commercially grown for its lumber. The resin is tapped from 60 to 80-year-old trees in spring.

Constituents

Resin: terpene acid and bitter principles, essential oil. Young shoots: some of the resin components, mucilages, vitamins A and C, minerals (calcium, iron, fluorine).
Bark: minerals, tannins, resin.

Applications

In an herbal tea or a decoction (3 shoots in 1 cup [250 ml] water), the balsam shoots are recommended for pulmonary infections, coughing and constipation.
In a decoction for the bath: 3 oz (100 g) per 4 cups (I liter) boiling water for 4 minutes. The adult branches cure muscular spasms and joint pain. Clean both the bath and the saucepan well following the treatment, for the essential oils contained in balsam will stain.
The inner bark treats difficult urinary infections and gastrointestinal inflammation. Boil 1 t (5 g) bark in 1 cup (250 ml) water for 5 minutes. Strain. Drink 3 cups (750 ml) daily, before each meal.
Balsam gum or "Indian glue" can be applied unadulterated to an abscess, an open wound or even a wart. Cover with a bandage to prevent it from sticking to clothes. Change the dressing at least twice in 24 hours. Continue the treatment for up to 1 week, for example, in the case of a plantar wart.
It can be used to treat toothache in the case of an abscessed root. As a medicinal oil (20% liquid resin and 80% olive oil), it calms joint and muscular pain, is used to treat bacterial infections of the skin and hemorrhoids.
Instructions for using the essential oil: For use in the bath, the essential oil must be diluted in alcohol, milk or oil (15 drops in 1/4 cup or 60 ml). For massages, dilute to 10% in vegetable oil. To inhale or use indirectly with an essential oil diffuser, put no more than 20 drops at a time in 4 cups (1 liter) hot water. Ideal for treating nasal and pulmonary congestion.
Balsam gum can be purchased commercially in capsule form. It is recommended to stop smoking, clean the lungs, relieve constipation and facilitate sleeping.
The dark honey of the spruce tree or honeydew, unique in France in the Vosges region, is a delicious pectoral nectar.

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