The Tree House Forest Product Information Sheet

No.79 FRANKINCENSE

COMMON NAME: FRANKINCENSE, OLIBANUM

GENUS & SPECIES: Boswellia carterii. B.thurifera

FAMILY: BURSERACEAE

FAMILY RELATIONS: MYRRH

GENERAL: A native of Northeast Africa and the Middle East, Boswellia carterii is the most important producer of frankincense in the Boswellia genus. Along with gold and myrrh (Commiphora erythraea) frankincense was one of the gifts brought to the baby Jesus at his birth. Frankincense literally means French incense and it has been a highly prized for thousands of years. It is not a large tree, rarely exceeding 10m in height and has green pinnate leaves that are a silvery grey on the lower surface and grouped together with the creamy white flowers, which are gathered in inflorescences. The frankincense we all know about is the coagulated sap of the tree. This is gathered by wounding the tree and collecting the sap when it has dried. Oman is one of the world’s major frankincense producers and before oil was discovered it was its main export.

ECOLOGY: The frankincense tree likes well drained almost dry soil and flourishes best in very hot arid situations where most other plant life has withered away.

CULINARY USES: None

MEDICINAL USES: Burning frankincense has been used for thousands of years, in social and religious situations, as a way of purifying the air and uplifting the spirit. Today an essential oil is used in aromatherapy as a skin care, as well as to treat bronchitis, coughs and all nervous conditions.