Balsam Fir
(Abies balsamea)
Family: Pinaceae (Pine)
Yum! I have made quite good friends with this tree in the last year. A few of them grow on my neighbors land, where I sample green wonders from time to time. The Balsam Fir is quite friendly, (unless you try to hug them...ouch!)
Tastes: The first tastes I got were sour, aromatic, and a bit bitter.
Impressions: My impressions were that it felt astringent and also a bit resinous. My tongue tightened up (like eating a green banana.) and my teeth felt a bit of sticky resin. I felt an immediate cool pine-y sensation, yet over time my mouth began to feel tingly warm and dry. I feel the overall energetics og Balsam Fir in the body are that it is warming and drying.
Because it was slightly aromatic, it felt almost nervine. I felt relaxed, yet uplifted and stimulated by the orange-y sour taste. I wanted to get up close and rub it on my face and smell it, but the needles kept me at a distance.
Color notes: the needles had two white lines on the undersides. On some parts it seemed to have a bluish tint.
cool-warm, dry
I feel that the Balsam Fir could be used more for resolving infections, bacteria, and for uplifting the spirit (great for tea in the winter!) I also believe that it serves a purpose as an expectorant and because of the astringency it would be quite tonifying to the tissues.
I also can see a bit of a personality signature in the Balsam Fir. They're are uplifting and smell delicious, so you want to get close, but their needles keep you at a distance. Perhaps the right kind of medicine for the type of person who has issues with boundaries. Whether that be that they let people get too close, or purposely keeps others at a distance.
Here is what s few others had to say about this scarcely written about plant:
"Associated with the Moon and Jupiter. A feminine herb which belongs to the triple aspect Goddess in Celtic lore, offering, learning, choice, and progress." ( The Touchwood Society Projects)
" It has long been used by the Northern Indians and is still widely used by them, being a safe, simple first-aid medicine. The Anishinabe name for this tree, according to the late herbalist Keewaydinoquay, translates as "elder sister" meaning someone very helpful." (Matt Wood, 51, The Earthwise Herbal)
