Bam anyone?

[Cedar Eater]

We have a tree in NE Michigan that is called bam locally. It looks like the local aspen which is called pople, but it is different. I can't find it in my tree book. Does anybody know what it is and what it's potential uses are?

[Jeff]

Cedar, Try "Balm of Gilead" (I believe thats the right spelling) I also think that this and Balsam Poplar to be the same species, but not sure.

The tree has more slang then any other I know of.

Bam
Bambi
bambagelia
swamp popple

I sawed for years before I knew any other name but "bam". There is an artist over in Gladwin that uses slices of it to make tables and then he paints outdoor scenes on them and covers it with that real thick polyurythane. The logs can smell to high heaven.

[Jeff]

Balm-Of-Gilead Poplar
Populus candicans Ait.

Balm-of-Gilead poplar (Populus candicans)  
Other common names.—Balsam poplar, balm buds.
Habitat and range.—The balm-of-Gilead tree, which has mostly escaped from cultivation, is found along roadsides or streams from Newfoundland to Minnesota and Georgia.

Description.—This is a large tree reaching a height of 100 feet with a maximum trunk diameter of about 6 1/2 feet with spreading branches, the young twigs slightly hairy, and with very resinous, fragrant buds. The broad, pointed leaves, 2 1/2 to 6 inches long, are somewhat heart-shaped at the base, fine toothed, dark green above, pale beneath, and hairy when young. The male and female flowers are borne in separate catkins 6 inches or less in length, which appear before the leaves.

[L. Wakefield]

   According to the research I did on balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera)- balm of Gilead tree was very similar indeed- but evidently did not make fertile seed so only comes from shoots. I understand that the buds are very similar in fragrance and possible medicinal effects. The is another species out west- black cottonwood or something- maybe Populus trichocarpa, or some hybrid thereof- that also has some of the same features.

  Websites and books discussing balsam poplar show a Canadian distribution and coming down to parts of NY and surely Mi. Balm of Gilead is described in the Maine tree book as being an import- but I'm not sure where it came FROM. Anyone got info on this? It may be your 'Bam'. The name Populus candicans prolly means 'Canadian Poplar' in Latin.  lw

[Cedar Eater]

I looked up Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera) in my tree guide (Petersen's Field Guide to Eastern Trees) and in the remarks column it says this:

This species, along with a sterile form, possibly a hybrid with another Populus species, is frequently called Balm-of-Gilead. Sterile plants spread mainly by sprouts and may have leaf undersides, leafstalks and twigs somewhat hairy.

I have some large trees that are either quakies, big tooth aspen or bam. Looks like I won't know until I can see the leaves. The local bandmiller says bam falls apart when it dries, so I don't want to make a mistake and use it for my pole barn rafters. I don't trust my nose enough to try identifying it by smell.

[L. Wakefield]

   From my searching for balsam poplar specifically; the tree in leaf has an overall 'brownish' or bronze cast. Much more so than other popples. If you look at the underside of the leaf, it very frequently has brown stains from the resins. The top side is dark green and shiny, the bottom is pale and with the stains. The teeth on the leaf margin are fine. Notably, the petiole- the stem of each leaf- is rounded in cross-section and not flattened. This is unlike almost all of the other popples and aspens. A flattened petiole is what gives asymmetrical movement in a breeze, and gives the 'quaking' appearance to quaking aspen. The balsam poplar doesn't do this.

  Once you do identify it, the smell will serve as a reinforcement, cuz it's not like the others. They are all kinda rank when you cut em, but this one has an aroma before you touch it. I will be looking at the buds for the first time this spring that I know for sure what tree it is. I'm still working on ID of the species when the leaves are off.

  What I don't know is how much of the above info is true also for 'balm of Gilead' tree. I suspect there may be much overlap in identification, as the balmlike or healing qualities of the resin are the salient point in the nomenclature. (Did I really just say that??)    lw

[Bud Man]

Sounds like that funky smell is looking for suitor's to keep us in the dark as to that age old question. -     - Which came first the Chicken or the Egg.  I vote for parthenogenesis,  till something better comes along.

[Corley5]

A neighbor had some paneling and trim made out of bam.  It has a grain and color similar to walnut but is very soft.

[L. Wakefield]

   So.. I took the opportunity this weekend to go up around Flagstaff Lake to the area I'd found balsam poplars previously. I had waited til the saplings in my yard showed their buds, and off I went- got there just in time to barely be able to make it over the dirt roads- still mighty soft- and the trees were budding and dripping with resin. Literal droplets oozing out in the high sunlight. When they buds get together in a bag, the consistency is kinda like a popcorn ball. Good bud- very resinous- but don't smoke it...

  The resin is kinda strong, but also has much of the quality of bee propolis- doesn't surprise me a bit, as bees do indeed work popple buds of many species.

  I had just read in Arctander (he is a classic for perfumery and scents) of 3 or 4 ways to work with the scented principles from the buds. The resin is indeed soluble in alcohol- and also in other hydrocarbon type solvents.
what I'd actually like to find is a way do get the straight resin without using any solvent, but I can't see that this is possible beyond a very micro scale.

  'They' say that the Native Americans used this stuff to seal birch bark canoes. I just can't picture how you'd do that unless you stuffed whole buds into the cracks.. not safe..
No way would ANYONE have the patience to scrape those weeny little droplets off to use as the equivalent of glue- not even someone patient enough to soften hides by chewing on them..

  I already use small amounts of bee propolis when I compound homemade incense. The pure resin from these buds does indeed make a pleasant addition to incense as well, but is very difficult to work with. I've been totally spoiled by frankincense, myrrh, pinon, and simlar resins- hard, cruchy, easily worked with a mortar and pestle...

  Now it's gotten cold again, and I am pondering a trip to Vermont and other places for another bud-collecting foray. It was 27* 2 nights ago and 17* last night. Spring, hah! I'm very glad I made my last road trip when I did. Mike and I were wondering how cold it was up by Flagstaff last night- but things are so weird around here, it could actually have been warmer up there..The sunlight and water are so pure in that environment. I was struck by the mad idea to purchase a small striplot to plant a few acres of various trees that grow specially well up there.   lw