balsam of Peru

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The thick brown aromatic resin of a Central American tree (Myroxylon balsamum var. pereirae) in the pea family, used medicinally in skin lotions, allergy testing, and cough preparations and in the manufacture of perfumes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun dark brown syrupy balsam from the Peruvian balsam tree used especially in dressing wounds and treating certain skin diseases