Resins, Gums & Balsams — Field Guide: Introduction & Index
Resins, Gums, Balsams & Oleoresins
The division that runs through this book is based on composition and behaviour, not on the everyday word sap. Trade names overlap constantly, so every profile states the botanical source and the finished form. History opens each entry because old names and uses explain trade — but they do not prove modern identity, efficacy or safety. Every profile then moves into present-day evidence.
How to read the guide
Each material is presented in one profile. It opens with identity — material family, biological source, part used, origin, odour and usual forms — then works through seven labelled stages: History, Identity & Route, Collection, Extraction & Forms, Uses Today, Recognition, and Safety & Sourcing. Four of those stages answer the four recognition questions a maker actually faces:
This guide never gives a drop count or a formula. The exact supplier document, product category, final concentration and finished-product safety assessment control real use.
The five material families
Oleo-Gum-Resins & Gum-Resins
Natural mixtures containing water-loving gum plus resin; an oleo-gum-resin also carries volatile aromatic oil. Trade terminology overlaps, so supplier identity is decisive.
Balsams & Balsamic Resins
Aromatic resinous materials traditionally associated with benzoic or cinnamic chemistry, or with a warm sweet balsamic odour. ‘Balsam’ is both a chemistry or trade word and an odour word.
Oleoresins & Turpentines
Resin naturally dissolved in volatile oil. Distillation can separate a volatile oil from a heavier resin fraction. A product called balsam may chemically belong here.
True, Hard & Special Resins
Mostly water-insoluble non-volatile resin, plus important boundary cases such as insect-made shellac and fossil amber. Several names — copal and dragon’s blood especially — cover multiple sources.
Natural Gums & Hydrocolloids
Water-soluble or water-swelling polymers used for texture, suspension, binding and film formation. Exudate gums, seed gums and fermentation gums share function but not origin.
Complete material index
Material family explains what the ingredient is. Biological family identifies its source. The harvested part makes the list scannable before opening a full profile.
| Material | Material family | Source / biological family | Part used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankincense / Olibanum | Oleo-gum-resin | Boswellia spp. · Burseraceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate (resin tears) |
| Myrrh | Oleo-gum-resin | Commiphora myrrha · Burseraceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate |
| Opoponax / Sweet Myrrh | Oleo-gum-resin | Commiphora guidottii · Burseraceae | Stem & trunk bark exudate |
| Galbanum | Oleo-gum-resin | Ferula spp. (F. gummosa) · Apiaceae | Root, root crown & lower-stem exudate |
| Asafoetida | Oleo-gum-resin | Ferula assa-foetida · Apiaceae | Taproot & root-crown exudate |
| Guggul / Indian Bdellium | Oleo-gum-resin | Commiphora wightii · Burseraceae | Stem & trunk bark exudate |
| Ammoniacum | Gum-resin | Dorema ammoniacum · Apiaceae | Stem, root crown & root exudate |
| Balm of Gilead / Mecca Balsam | Aromatic balsam / oleoresin | Commiphora gileadensis · Burseraceae | Stem & trunk bark exudate; leaves & buds separate |
| Benzoin: Siam & Sumatra | Balsamic resin | Styrax tonkinensis; S. benzoin · Styracaceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate after tapping |
| Storax / Styrax Balsam | Balsamic resin | Liquidambar orientalis; L. styraciflua · Altingiaceae | Trunk bark & wounded wood exudate |
| Peru Balsam | Balsam | Myroxylon balsamum var. pereirae · Fabaceae | Balsamic exudate from wounded bark & wood |
| Tolu Balsam | Balsam | Myroxylon balsamum var. balsamum · Fabaceae | Balsamic exudate from incised trunk bark |
| Labdanum | Balsamic resin | Cistus ladanifer; C. creticus · Cistaceae | Sticky resin coating leaves & young twigs |
| Canada Balsam / Fir Balsam | Oleoresin | Abies balsamea · Pinaceae | Oleoresin from bark blisters & resin ducts |
| Gurjun Balsam | Oleoresin | Dipterocarpus spp. · Dipterocarpaceae | Oleoresin in trunk wood, tapped through bark |
| Venice Turpentine / Larch Oleoresin | Oleoresin / turpentine | Larix decidua · Pinaceae | Oleoresin from trunk resin ducts |
| Manila Elemi | Oleoresin | Canarium luzonicum · Burseraceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate |
| Copaiba | Oleoresin | Copaifera spp. · Fabaceae | Oleoresin in canals & cavities within trunk wood |
| Pine Oleoresin, Turpentine & Rosin | Oleoresin / turpentine / rosin | Pinus spp. · Pinaceae | Oleoresin from resin ducts; rosin after distillation |
| Mastic | True resin | Pistacia lentiscus (Chios) · Anacardiaceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate |
| Dammar / Damar | True resin | Shorea, Hopea & relatives · Dipterocarpaceae | Trunk bark exudate from dipterocarp trees |
| Copal | Recent or semi-fossil resin | Agathis, Hymenaea & others · Araucariaceae or Fabaceae | Trunk bark exudate; some aged / semi-fossil |
| Sandarac | True resin | Tetraclinis articulata · Cupressaceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate |
| Dragon’s Blood | Trade-name resin | Dracaena, Daemonorops, Croton · source dependent | Stem resin, fruit coating or bark latex |
| Guaiac Resin & Guaiacwood | Wood resin / heartwood | Guaiacum officinale; G. sanctum · Zygophyllaceae | Resin-rich heartwood; oil from chipped wood |
| Breu Branco / White Breu | True resin | Protium heptaphyllum · Burseraceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate |
| Shellac / Lac Resin | Insect-secreted resin | Kerria lacca · Kerriidae (lac insect) | Resinous secretion encrusting host-tree twigs |
| Fossil Amber & the ‘Amber’ Accord | Fossil resin | Extinct source plants · family varies by deposit | Ancient plant exudate altered during burial |
| Gum Arabic / Acacia Gum | Exudate gum | Senegalia senegal; Vachellia seyal · Fabaceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate |
| Tragacanth | Exudate gum | Astragalus spp. · Fabaceae | Gum from root & lower stem tissues |
| Karaya / Sterculia Gum | Exudate gum | Sterculia urens · Malvaceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate |
| Ghatti Gum | Exudate gum | Anogeissus latifolia · Combretaceae | Trunk & branch bark exudate |
| Guar Gum | Seed galactomannan gum | Cyamopsis tetragonoloba · Fabaceae | Seed endosperm inside the guar pod |
| Locust Bean / Carob Gum | Seed galactomannan gum | Ceratonia siliqua · Fabaceae | Seed endosperm inside the carob pod |
| Xanthan Gum | Microbial fermentation gum | Xanthomonas campestris · Xanthomonadaceae | Extracellular polysaccharide from fermentation |
| Tara Gum | Seed galactomannan gum | Tara spinosa · Fabaceae | Seed endosperm inside tara pods |