Frankincense and Myrrh: Ancient Plant Industry

Details of this exotic plant industry are somewhat sketchy, but frankincense and myrrh (as well as gold) were an important part of early civilizations. Frankincense is a fragrant gum resin that is yellowish-white and oozes from the incisions made in the trunk of each tree. Small white chunks are found into powder which emit a balsam-like odor when burned. Myrrh is also a gum resin with a bitter taste and a clear amber-yellow to reddish-brown color Myrrh-producing trees look somewhat like low spreading cedars.

Frankincense and myrrh were the main products used in incense during pre-Christian times. The plants which produced these products grew abundantly in a region of Southern Arabia. From there, frankincense and myrrh were brought overland by heavily guarded camel caravans. They moved along the Red Sea. Then some moved west to Egypt, while others moved east to Babylon and Syria. It is believed that these materials brought about 500 percent profit by the time they reached their destinations.

Incense containing the frankincense and myrrh was burned in enormous amount by the Chaldean priests. In Jerusalem large storage houses were built to hold and protect these previous scents. The Egyptians, however, were the largest users of these products. They burned them in worship, used them as ambalming agents, as medicine and in a religious ritual concerned with regeneration of the spirits of the dead. The first known Egyptian expedition to gather these resins set out in about 3000 B C., and the last major one occurred in 1493 B C.

The Egyptians tried bringing back some of the plants to produce their own resins, but apparently their attempts were not successful. It is said that the kindgom of Cyrene became a prosperous Greek colony with frankincense as its main export Over-exploitation of the plant, however, caused it to become extinct at about the time of Christ. It is not quite clear which species of plants produced the ancient frankincense and myrrh. However, most likely myrrh was obtained from a tree known botanically as "Commiphora abyssinica" as well as some other related species. Some authorities say that the frankincense tree is "Bowellia carteri," but other species may have existed. Today several species of myrrh trees and the frankincense trees may be found growing on the island of Socotra, located in the Indian Ocean just off the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Both trees are small and spreading, but the species producing Frankincense are unique. Branches are stiff and low. Leaves are scanty, curly and indented. The bark is thick with a whitish peel clinging closely around the trunk giving a blotchy appearance. Flowers are few, but those produced are red and geranium-like. The trees are not cultivated and although a little incense is collected, it is for local purposes and not for export. From a vast industry, these surviving plants seem much more than a relic of past glory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankincense
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrh