, or balza
A South American tree, very porous, which grows to an immense height in a few years, and is almost as light as cork. Hence the balsa-wood is used for the surf-boat called balsa. (See jangada.)
BALSA(Βάλσα: Eth. Balsenses, Tavira), a considerable town of Lusitania in Spain, on the S. coast. It...
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
Balsa, ae, f., a town in Lusitania , now Javira , Plin. 4, 21, 35, § 117; Mel. 3, 1, 6. ...
A New Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis Ph.D. and Charles Short, LL. D.
·noun A raft or float, used principally on the Pacific coast of South America. ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language