BALSAM OF TOLU-TREE.
1133
,t >ad' 5:VI ' IXlSTRATI0N '—Dose, f 3 ss. to fsj. It may be taken on sugar, ori e mto pills with some absorbent powder, or diffused through watermeans of sugar, gum, or yolk of egg.
^y r °sper'mum toluiferum, Richard, E. — The Balsam of Tolu-Tree.
Toluif'era Bal'samum, Miller, D.
Sex . Syst. Decandria, Monogynia.
(Concrete balsamic exudation, E ,—Resina, D.)
(p? I . SToR Y.—The earliest notice of balsam of Tolu is that of Monardesi lri ^ as > Exot. 304). He tells us that the balsam had been recently
Botany. Gen - Char. —See Myrospermum peruiferum.
^ IIAR -— Branches and leaves smooth. Leaflets oblong, acuminate,^ ateral, rounded at the base (D. C.)
kut w bich yields the balsam of Tolu was formerly called Toluifera Balsamum.
v?K ard ^ av ' n n carefully investigated the characters of the genus Toluifera, found•hey l ? le exception of those of the fruit, which Miller had imperfectly described,sta tes r •dentical with those of the genus now called Myrospermum ; and as Ruizbalsams of Peru and Tolu are both obtained from one tree, the Myro-•he P eru iferum has been adopted by several writers, and by the London College, asHj c i rc ® °f both balsams.
1 Am a * (Ann. Scien. Nat. t. ii. p. 168) found specimens of the trees yielding theset. 11 P um boldt’s herbarium ; and though he at first mistook them for the same
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•met ’ n ? has subsequently recognized them to be different. He therefore made a dises •he tree yielding the balsam of Tolu, and it is now called Myrospermum,kafl ets m - It differs from M. peruiferum in its having thin, membranous, obovate•ttiojl"’f 11 cl) are lengthened and acuminated at their summits. Moreover, the ter-e aflet is larger than the lateral ones.
Mountains of Tolu, Turbaco, and on the banks of the Magda-j> etween Garapatas and Monpox.th e ^ Ruction.—B alsam of Tolu is procured by making incisions i°f the tree, and receiving the liquid balsam in vessels made o*ax. It is afterwards transferred into proper vessels. It onlyn es from the tree during the heat of the day (Monardes , op. cit. 304).frao e ir ^ ERCE -—Balsam of Tolu is sometimes brought direct from Car-C0l hes L ^ anta Martha, and Savanilla; more commonly, however, it4ric a i " a y °f New York or Jamaica . It is usually imported in cylin-iar e i , tln canisters; now and then in earthen pots or jars, still moreT - 111 small calabashes.
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■>Uf. jj „ ption.—B alsam of Tolu (balsamum tolutanum vel de Tolu),Coni es ), rSt bought over, is generally soft: and tenacious, but by age be-s °hi evv l ai(a an( f brittle, somewhat similar to resin, and has a granular orliardg lat cr ystal]ine appearance. Formerly it was imported in thistta hsn CCl s ^ ate ’ but is now usually met with in the soft state. It is0 d°Hj. ,™t’ has a reddish or yellowish-brown colour, a most fragranta pleas Rou Sb less powerful than that of storax or Peruvian balsam, and•lily ant sweetish taste. It softens under the teeth; when heated rea-S °Hle ■ ’ ta k es fuc, and burns with an agreeable odour. It is verybal Sam ln a lcohol and ether, and gives out its acid to water. The softa hd the C ° IUains morc °il but less acid than the dry balsam, the acidbard ens res ' n being formed at the expense of the oil. Balsam of ToluBalsa ° r re sinjfies with much more facility than balsam of Peru .
°f Tolu in calabashes (balsamum tolutanum in cucurbitis par-