Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Balata \Bal"a*ta\, n. [Sp., prob. fr. native name.]
   1. A West Indian sapotaceous tree ({Bumelia retusa}).

   2. The bully tree ({Minusops globosa}); also, its milky juice
      ({); also, its milky juice (}), which when dried
      constitutes an elastic gum called {chicle}, or {chicle
      gum}.

Source : WordNet®

balata
     n 1: when dried yields a hard substance used e.g. in golf balls
          [syn: {gutta balata}]
     2: a hard-wooded tropical tree yielding balata gum and heavy
        red timber [syn: {balata tree}, {beefwood}, {bully tree},
        {Manilkara bidentata}]