Botanists such as John Bartram and André Michaux began making excursions into the diverse southern Appalachian forests as early as the late 18th century. On one such trip, Michaux was accompanied by Scottish botanist John Fraser, who discovered the fir tree that now bears his name. Early settlers gave the Fraser fir the nickname she-balsam due to the white blisters on the ends of its branches, which appeared to contain milk. The dark appearance of the spruce-fir canopy in contrast to the bright green canopy of the deciduous forest is the root of numerous mountain names across the southern Appalachians, most notably the Black Mountains, as well as individual summits such as Old Black in the Great Smokies. The nicknames of the red spruce and Fraser fir—he-balsam and she-balsam—also influenced the nomenclature of the southern Appalachians, leading to names such as Richland Balsam.