Balsam

Legend holds that St. Boniface was the first to co-opt the tradition for Christianity in the 8th century. He was attempting to convert the Druids who worshipped oak trees as the symbol of their idol. He instead offered the balsam fir tree, using its triangular shape to describe the Trinity and the fact that his evergreen boughs pointed to heaven, as a symbol of God.
Balsam fir is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically 14–20 metres (46–66 ft) tall, occasionally reaching a height of 27 metres (89 ft). The narrow conic crown consists of dense, dark-green leaves. The bark on young trees is smooth, grey, and with resin blisters (which tend to spray when ruptured), becoming rough and fissured or scaly on old trees. The leaves are flat and needle-like, 15 to 30 mm (5⁄8 to 1+1⁄8 in) long, dark green above often with a small patch of stomata near the tip, and two white stomatal bands below, and a slightly notched tip. They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but with the leaf bases twisted so that the leaves appear to be in two more-or-less horizontal rows on either side of the shoot. The needles become shorter and thicker the higher they are on the tree. The seed cones are erect, 40 to 80 mm (1+1⁄2 to 3+1⁄4 in) long, dark purple, ripening brown and disintegrating to release the winged seeds in September. Medicinal For thousands of years Native Americans used Balsam fir for medicinal and therapeutic purposes. The needles are digested directly off the tree by many animals and humans. Higher content dosage is ingested in tea. Balsam Fir contains vitamin C, which has been studied for its effects on bacterial and viral infections.
he resin is used to produce Canada balsam, and was traditionally used as a 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 SPF 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. Prior to the availability of foam rubber and air mattresses, 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.[21] They stuff the leaves,[22] needles and wood into pillows as a panacea.[23] 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 poultices.[24]
The Atikamekw chew the sap as a cold remedy, and use the boughs as mats for the tent floor.[25]
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 boils. They apply a poultice of pitch applied to cuts. They also use a decoction of pitch and sturgeon 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.[26]
The Innu people grate the inner bark and eat it to benefit their diet.[27]
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.[28] They apply a poultice of the gum and dried beaver kidneys for cancer.[29] They also take a compound decoction in the early stages of tuberculosis, and they use the plant for bedwetting and gonorrhea.[30]
The Maliseet use the juice of the plant as a laxative,[31] use the pitch in medicines,[32] and use an infusion of the bark, sometimes mixed with spruce and tamarack bark, for gonorrhea.[33] They use the needles and branches as pillows and bedding, the roots as thread, and use the pitch to waterproof seams in canoes.[34]
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.[35] They also apply gum from plant blisters to sores.[36]
The Miꞌkmaq use a poultice of inner bark for an unspecified purpose,[37] 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.[38] They use the boughs to make beds, use the bark to make a beverage, and use the wood for kindling and fuel.[39]
The Ojibwe melt the gum on warm stones and inhale the fumes for headache.[40] They also use a decoction of the root as an herbal steam for rheumatic joints.[41] They also combine the gum with bear's grease and use it as an ointment for hair.[42] 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. [43] They use the plant as a cough medicine.[44] 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.[45] They boil the resin twice and add it to suet or fat to make a canoe pitch.[46] 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.[47]
The Penobscot smear the sap over sores, burns, and cuts.[48]
The Potawatomi use the needles to make pillows, believing that the aroma prevented one from getting a cold.[49] They also use the balsam gum as a salve for sores, and take an infusion of the bark for tuberculosis and other internal afflictions.[50]