BALM OF GILEAD; BALSAM; TACAMAHAC (Populus balsami- 

 fera, Linn.). 75 to 100 feet. Large, stout-trunked tree with 

 narrow, open head of angular branches, ending in warty, 

 orange-dotted twigs, often pubescent. Buds large, exuding 

 clear, fragrant balsam that seals the numerous scales. Bark 

 reddish brown or gray, roughened by dark excrescences; 

 branches paler, green, turning red, and finally gray. Wood 

 soft, weak, pale, with white sapwood, used for cheap wooden 

 wares. Leaves ovate lanceolate, finely saw-toothed, 3 to 5 

 inches long, thick, dark green, shining, paler, often rusty be- 

 neath, on slender stems, not flat. Flowers March, in droop- 

 ing, hairy catkins with fringed bracts. Fruit May, few cap- 

 sules on long stems, seed minute, brow r n, in cotton. Dist.: 

 Low, wet land, Newfoundland to Hudson Bay and Alaska; 

 Maine to Nebraska, Idaho, and British Columbia. Worth 

 most as a shelter tree where other trees do not thrive. Also 

 planted for ornament. 



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