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Abies balsamea or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to West Virginia).
Balsam fir's essential oil and some of its compounds have shown efficacy against ticks.Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) needles and their essential oil kill overwintering ticks (Ixodes scapularis) at cold temperatures - PMC (nih.gov)...
The female megasporangiate is larger than the male. It contains bracts and megasporophylls, each of which contains two ovules, arranged in a spiral. These then develop a nucellus in which a mother cell is formed. Meiosis occurs and a megaspore is produced as the first cell of the megagametophyte. As cell division takes place the nucleus of the megaspore thickens, and cell differentiation occurs to produce prothallial tissue containing an Egg cell. The remaining undifferentiated cells then form the endosperm.
When the male structure releases its pollen grains, some fall onto the female strobilus and reach the ovule. At this point the pollen tube begins to generate, and eventually the sperm and egg meet at which point Fertilisation occurs. (1965). 9780816661282, University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9780816661282
The foliage is browsed by moose and deer. The seeds are eaten by American red squirrels, grouse, and pine mice; the tree also provides food for and , as well as shelter for moose, , white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, and other small mammals and songbirds. The needles are eaten by some caterpillars, for example the Io moth ( Automeris io).
Abies balsamea is one of the most cold-hardy trees known, surviving at temperatures as low as (USDA Hardiness Zone 2). Specimens even showed no ill effects when immersed in liquid nitrogen at .
It is short-lived by conifer standards, the oldest specimen being 245 years old as of 1996. The tallest and widest specimen had a height of and a DBH of .
The needles of balsam fir can be infected by the fungus Delphinella balsameae.
The balsam fir was used six times for the US Capitol Christmas Tree between 1964 and 2019.
Other cultivars include:
Prior to the availability of foam rubber and , balsam fir boughs were a preferred mattress in places where trees greatly outnumbered campers. Many fir limbs are vertically bowed from alternating periods of downward deformation from snow loading and new growth reaching upward for sunlight. Layers of inverted freshly cut limbs from small trees created a pleasantly fragrant mattress lifting bedding off the wet ground; and the bowed green limbs were springs beneath the soft needles. Upper layers of limbs were placed with the cut ends of the limbs touching the earth to avoid uncomfortably sharp spots and sap.
The Abenaki use the gum for slight itches and as an antiseptic ointment. They stuff the leaves, needles, and wood into pillows as a panacea.
The Algonquin people of Quebec apply a poultice of the gum to open sores, insect bites, boils and infections, use the needles as a sudatory for women after childbirth and for other purposes, use the roots for heart disease, use the needles to make a laxative tea, and use the needles for making .
The Atikamekw chew the sap as a cold remedy, and use the boughs as mats for the tent floor.
The Cree use the pitch for menstrual irregularity, and take an infusion of the bark and sometimes the wood for coughs. They use the pitch and grease used as an ointment for scabies and . They apply a poultice of pitch applied to cuts. They also use a decoction of pitch and Fish oil used for tuberculosis, and take an infusion of bark for tuberculosis. They also use the boughs to make brush shelters and use the wood to make paddles.
The Innu people grate the inner bark and eat it to benefit their diet.
The Iroquois use a steam from a decoction of branches as a bath for rheumatism and parturition, and ingest a decoction of the plant for rheumatism. They take a compound decoction for colds and coughs, sometimes mixing it with alcohol. They apply a compound decoction of the plant for cuts, sprains, bruises and sores. They apply a poultice of the gum and dried beaver kidneys for cancer. They also take a compound decoction in the early stages of tuberculosis, and they use the plant for bedwetting and gonorrhea.
The Maliseet use the juice of the plant as a laxative, use the pitch in medicines, and use an infusion of the bark, sometimes mixed with spruce and tamarack bark, for gonorrhea. They use the needles and branches as pillows and bedding, the roots as thread, and use the pitch to waterproof seams in canoes.
The Menominee use the inner bark as a seasoner for medicines, take an infusion of the inner bark for chest pain, and use the liquid balsam pressed from the trunk for colds and pulmonary troubles. They also use the inner bark as a poultice for unspecified illnesses. They also apply gum from plant blisters to sores.
The Miꞌkmaq use a poultice of inner bark for an unspecified purpose, use the buds, cones and inner bark for diarrhea, use the gum for burns, colds, fractures, sores and wounds, use the cones for colic, and use the buds as a laxative. They also use the bark used for gonorrhea and buds used as a laxative.Chandler, R. Frank, Lois Freeman and Shirley N. Hooper, 1979, Herbal Remedies of the Maritime Indians, Journal of Ethnopharmacology 1:49-68, page 53 They use the boughs to make beds, use the bark to make a beverage, and use the wood for kindling and fuel.
The Ojibwe melt the gum on warm stones and inhale the fumes for headache. They also use a decoction of the root as an herbal steam for rheumatic joints. They also combine the gum with bear's grease and use it as an ointment for hair. They use the needle-like leaves in as part of ceremony involving the sweat bath, and use the gum for colds and inhale the leaf smoke for colds. They use the plant as a cough medicine. The gum is used for sores and a compound containing leaves is used as wash. The liquid balsam from bark blisters is used for sore eyes. They boil the resin twice and add it to suet or fat to make a canoe pitch. The bark gum is taken for chest soreness from colds, applied to cuts and sores, and decoction of the bark is used to induce sweating. The bark gum is also taken for gonorrhea.
The Penobscot smear the sap over sores, burns, and cuts.
The Potawatomi use the needles to make pillows, believing that the aroma prevented one from getting a cold. They also use the balsam gum as a salve for sores, and take an infusion of the bark for tuberculosis and other internal afflictions.
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Horticulture
Abies balsamea is also grown as an ornamental tree for parks and gardens. Very hardy down to or below, it requires a sheltered spot in full sun. The dwarf cultivar A. balsamea 'Hudson' (Hudson fir), grows to only tall by broad, and has distinctive blue-green foliage with pale undersides. It does not bear cones. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Other uses
The resin is used to produce Canada balsam, and was traditionally used as a Common cold remedy and as a glue for glasses, optical instrument components, and for preparing permanent mounts of microscope specimens. Given its use as a traditional remedy and the relatively high ascorbic acid content of its needles, historian Jacques Mathieu has argued that the balsam fir was the "aneda" that cured scurvy during the second expedition into Canada of Jacques Cartier. The wood is milled for framing lumber (part of Spruce-pine-fir lumber), siding and pulped for paper manufacture. Balsam fir oil is an EPA approved nontoxic rodent repellent. The balsam fir is also used as an air freshener and as incense.
Native American ethnobotany
Native Americans use it for a variety of medicinal purposes.
Tree emblem
Balsam fir is the provincial tree of New Brunswick.
See also
Notes
Further reading
(1995). 9781551050645, Lone Pine Publishing. ISBN 9781551050645
External links
Categories: Balsamea, Flora Of Eastern Canada, Flora Of Western Canada, Trees Of Northern America, Plants Used In Traditional Native American Medicine, Trees Of Humid Continental Climate, Least Concern Plants, Provincial Symbols Of New Brunswick, Plants Described In 1753, Taxa Named By Carl Linnaeus, Least Concern Flora Of The United States, Taxa Named By Philip Miller
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