Tolu Balsam

Tolu balsam, or balsam of Tolu, is the fragrant resin tapped from the living trunks of Myroxylon balsamum var. balsamum, a South American tree of the legume family; another variety of the same species gives balsam of Peru, with which tolu is often confused. The species is a large, slow-growing tree up to 45 metres tall, native to tropical forest from southern Mexico to the Amazon regions of Peru and Brazil, and the balsam comes from Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. Collectors cut V-shaped wounds in the trunk and catch the flow in calabash cups. Fresh, the balsam is a brownish, sticky, semi-liquid mass; in air it turns hard and brittle, softening again when warmed, and its scent recalls vanilla or benzoin and is most fragrant when it is burned. It is named after Tolú in Colombia, from where it was shipped to Europe, and the solvent toluene, isolated from it in 1841, is named after it. Tolu has long been the basis of cough syrups and lozenges, and perfumers use it as a fixative for its warm, mellow, slightly spicy scent. Incense and pastilles are made from it, and it appears among the common raw materials of incense-making. It is a well-known cause of contact allergy.