Balsam fir

Abies balsamea

Foliage Type:

needle

Arrangement:

single

Distinguishing features: leaves - linear, 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches long, usually arranged in flat (180 degree) plane leaves - flat (2-sided), cannot be rolled between fingers easily 2 white lines of stomates on underside of leaves are visible leaves not stalked (no petiole), base wide and circular cones 1-3 inches long, erect twigs smooth when needles removed bark mostly smooth with resin blisters

Habitats:	dry mesic sites mesic sites wet mesic sites wet sites
Often confused with:	White spruce Hemlock
Ecological Value:	seeds eaten by grouse twigs eaten by hare, deer, moose bark gnawed by porcupine
Did You Know?	Balsam fir is probably the most symmetrical of all northeastern trees. an excellent Christmas trees, holds its needles.
Uses / Ethnobotanical uses:	Canada balsam is obtained from bark blisters, which is a gum used by woodsmen for wounds and a waterproof cement sold as confection prior to chewing gum (chicle) invented used as an antiseptic and diuretic used in creams and ointments for piles and root-canal sealers analgesic for burns, sores, bruises, and wounds leaf tea used for colds, cough, and asthma formerly used in mounting specimens on microscope slides and cementing lenses resinous knots once used as torches fire by friction sets made from balsam fir