Gum is a substance of various properties which exudes spontaneously from the bark of certain trees, such as the plum, the peach, etc; or from incisions made in the bark to facilitate the flow. Gums form non-crystalline rounded drops or tears, the purest varieties being transparent or translucent, of a pale yellow but sometimes of a dark colour.
When dissolved in water gum forms a thick, smooth fluid, with considerable viscosity. Some gums, such as gum-arabic, dissolve in water; others, like tragacanth, are only partially soluble; they are insoluble in alcohol. By being insoluble in alcoholgums are distinguished from resins. They have no odour, and only a very faint taste. The different kinds of gum receive their names from the countries from which they are imported - such as gum-arabic, gum-senegal, Barbary gum, East India gum, etc, and from individual features, as cherry-tree gum, tragacanth, etc. Gum-resins require water and alcohol to dissolve them. Research Gum
Abbreviations
General Information
Research Gum