Balsa mod end ron

(-o-děn'dron.) (Bot.) A gen. of shrubby plants, O. A my rid acer. The Syrian species,B. opobalsamum, yields the Balm of Gilead, which has a warm aromatic taste, and an exquisitely fragrant smell. It is highly esteemed by the Turks as an odoriferous unguent and cosmetic; but its scarcity is such that the genuine balsam is seldom exported as an article of commerce. Bal'ta, a town of Ru ian Poland, govt. Podolia, on the Kodema, an affluent of the Bug, 132 m. E.S.E. of Kamenietz. Pop. 15,000. [s. 70]