Tolu balsam tree

Authors:Prof. Dr. med. Peter Altmeyer, Prof. Dr. med. Martina Bacharach-Buhles

All authors of this article

Last updated on: 28.02.2025

Dieser Artikel auf Deutsch

Synonym(s)

Myroxylon balsamum

Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please login to access all articles, images, and functions.

Our content is available exclusively to medical professionals. If you have already registered, please login. If you haven't, you can register for free (medical professionals only).


Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please complete your registration to access all articles and images.

To gain access, you must complete your registration. You either haven't confirmed your e-mail address or we still need proof that you are a member of the medical profession.

Finish your registration now

DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.

The tolu balsam tree belongs to the balsam tree genus (Myroxylon) within the Faboideae subfamily. It grows up to 25 m high. It is found in Central and South America.

Like Peru balsam, tolu balsam is obtained by live resin extraction, i.e. damaging the trunk bark and collecting the balsam flow. Tolu balsam hardens in the air, forming a reddish-brown, vanilla-scented crystalline mass.

General informationThis section has been translated automatically.

Balsam trees grow as small and evergreen trees, which reach growth heights of up to 12 m. They have prominent, approximately 15 cm long leaves and lateral or terminal inflorescences, whose petals are white and stamens yellow. The 7 to 11 cm long legume contains only one seed.

Myroxylon balsamum is the parent plant of Balsamum tolutanum (named after the Colombian city of Tolu), the air-hardened balsam mass.

Authors

Last updated on: 28.02.2025

Authors: Prof. Dr. med. Peter AltmeyerProf. Dr. med. Martina Bacharach-Buhles