Taxon: Myroxylon balsamum (L.) Harms var. pereirae (Royle) Harms

Genus:

Myroxylon

Family:

Fabaceae (alt.Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Sophoreae

Nomen number:

70454

Place of publication:

Notizbl. Königl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 5:95. 1908

Link to protologue:

Typification:

Name Verified on:

06-nov-1985 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last Changed: 18-may-2017

Species priority site is:

Accessions:

0 in National Plant Germplasm System

Other conspecific taxa:

Synonyms:

Basionym: Myrospermum pereirae Royle
(≡) Myroxylon pereirae (Royle) Klotzsch
(≡) Toluifera pereirae (Royle) Baill.

Common names:

balsam-of-Peru (Source: World Econ Pl) - English
balsam-of-Peru-tree (Source: Herbs Commerce ed2) - English
Peru balsam (Source: World Econ Pl) - English
baumier du Pérou (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
Perubalsambaum (Source: Dict Rehm) - German
bálsamo blanco (Source: Dict Rehm) - Spanish
bálsamo del Perú (Source: Dict Rehm) - Spanish
perubalsamträd (Source: Kulturvaxtdatabas) - Swedish

Economic Importance:

Food additives: flavoring (fide Leg WorldEc; Pl Res SEAs 18:130. 2000)
Environmental: ornamental (fide Pl Res SEAs 18:130. 2000)
Materials: essential oils (fide Pl Res SEAs 18:130. 2000)
Materials: gum/resin (gum used in perfumery fide Leg WorldEc)
Materials: wood (fide Pl Res SEAs 18:130. 2000)
Medicines: source of balsam (fide CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2; Pl Res SEAs 18:130. 2000)

Distributional Range:

Native

Northern America

SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Michoacan, Morelos, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Yucatan]

Southern America

CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador [Napo, Pastaza, Zamora-Chinchipe]

Cultivated

(also cult.)

References:

Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource on www.skud.info). 2012 (Kulturvaxtdatabas)
Boer, E. & A. B. Ella, eds. 2000. Plants producing exudates (Pl Res SEAs) 18:130.
Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981 (Leg WorldEc)
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000 (Herbs Commerce ed2)
McVaugh, R. Flora Novo-Galiciana. 1983- (F NGalicia)
Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994 (Dict Rehm)

Check other web resources for Myroxylon balsamum (L.) Harms var. pereirae (Royle) Harms :

TROPICOS: Nomenclatural and Specimen Database of the Missouri Botanical Garden
ILDIS: International Legume Database & Information Service
Mansfeld: Mansfeld's World Databas of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops
ePIC: Electronic Plant Information Centre of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
AGRICOLA: Article Citation Database or NAL Catalog of USDA's National Agricultural Library
Entrez: NCBI's search engine for PubMed citations, GenBank sequences, etc.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy).
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: http://germoplasma.iniaf.gob.bo/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=70454. Accessed 7 junio 2026.