Myroxylon | ||||||||||||||||
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Myroxylon balsamum from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887) | ||||||||||||||||
Plant Info | ||||||||||||||||
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Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
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Species | ||||||||||||||||
Myroxylon balsamum Myroxylon peruiferum | ||||||||||||||||
Ref: ILDIS Version 6.05 |
Myroxylon is a genus of two species of South American trees in the Fabaceae (Leguminosae). The tree is well know in the western world as the source for balsam of Peru and balsam of Tolu.
They are small trees growing to 12 m tall, with evergreen pinnate leaves 15 cm long with 5-13 leaflets. The flowers are white with yellow stamens, produced in racemes. The fruit is a pod 7-11 cm long, containing a single seed.