Balsam Fir Needle Oil

Abies balsamea · Pinaceae

Essential Oil Irregular / Rare

Odour

Peculiar oily-balsamic, somewhat resinous, but also fresh and sweet odor, resembling the odor of spruce oil or pinus pumilio oil. Equal in sweetness to pinus pumilio oil, but poorer in balsamic notes. Poorer in sweetness and tenacity than the better grades of spruce oils.

Common adulterants

  • camphene
  • isobornylacetate
  • limonene
  • pinene

See also

Notes

Often confused with or adulterated by other fir or spruce needle oils. May be entirely artificial composition. Does not offer unique notes and may eventually disappear from market.

Full Arctander text
#### "Balsam Fir" Needle Oil. Also known as **"Canadian Fir Needle Oil**", this essential oil is steam distilled from the leaves (needles) and twigs of **Abies Balsamea**, the "**Balm of Gilead Fir". **The tree is a fir, but the commercial name is confusing. The tree grows abundantly in Canada and the northeastern United States. It should not be confused with the tree which yields "Balm of **Gilead **Buds" (see monograph on **Poplar Bud Oil).** Abies Balsamea also yields a so-called **Canada**** ****Balsam**** **which is a turpentine type of natural oleoresin. (See **Canada Balsam).** **Balsam**** ****Fir**** **Needle Oil consists mainly of monoterpenes, e. g. l-limonene, l-beta-pinene and l-camphene, while l-bornylacetate is the main oxygenated component (15 to 18% of the oil). The oil is a pale yellow or almost water-white mobile oil of a peculiar oily-balsamic, somewhat resinous, hut also fresh and sweet odor, resembling the odor of spruce oil or pinus pumilio oil. The abies balsamea needles oil is equal in sweetness to the oil of pinus pumilio, but poorer in balsamic notes than this oil. On an overall basis, the abies balsamea oil is poorer in sweetness and tenacity than the better grades of spruce oils. Oil of **Abies Balsamea **serves as a "pine-and- spruce" fragrance in fresh-balsamic "fir-needle" blends, Christmas-tree odors, fougères, air fresheners, disinfectants, detergents, household cleaners, etc. The production of **Abies**** ****Balsamea**** ****Oil**** **is irregular, and it is rarely available in very large quantities. It is often confused or deliberately adulterated with other fir or spruce needle oils; it may be an entirely artificial composition, based upon isobornylacetate, limonene, camphene, pinene, etc. **Balsam**** ****Fir**** ****Needle**** ****Oil**** **does not offer any unique notes, and it may eventually disappear from the market, particularly if the richer bornylacetate-types of conifer needle oils become freely available. (See also **Fir Needle Absolute **and **Fir Needle Oils**, Summary).