The Book of Matthew (2:11) tells how ‘Magi from out of the East’ brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus. Rather unsurprisingly, two out of the three were – and still are – derived from plants. Even less surprisingly in this day and age, one of them is endangered.
Frankincense, a gum obtained from several species of dwarf trees growing in southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa, has been value for at least 5,000 years. The Ancient Egyptians dispatched at last one expedition to the ‘Land of Punt’ in 1458 B.C. – probably today’s Somalia. Jews, Arabs, Greeks, Romans – all followed. Inevitably, it was brought back to Europe by Frankish Crusaders, hence the vernacular: Frank-incense.
Botanically, the trees are of the genus
Boswellia after James Boswell (1740-95), Scottish biographer of Samuel Johnson. Given the sacred association this is somewhat questionable – Boswell’s private life would be the envy of Hugh Hefner.
The trees may be tapped when they reach their first decade of life. The harvesting is repeated three times in a single year. As might be expected such abuse does nothing to encourage health. While burning, grazing, and attacks by longhorn beetles have reduced Boswellia populations over all their range, researchers have recorded that seed germination from untapped trees is over 80 per cent, it falls to 16 per cent in tapped trees, threatening them still further.
Myrrh, like frankincense, is obtained by tapping trees in the botanical family
Burseraceae, specifically from the genus Commiphora myrrha. A small tree protected by fierce spines, it grows over much the same range as Boswellia, in dry stony soils over limestone rock.
The aromatic oleoresin was valued by the Ancient Egyptians for use in embalming, while they turned frankincense to ash to use for eyeliner. Recorded in the Hebrew Bible and Talmud, and thanks in no small part to Matthew, both continue to be important as incense in modern Christian church services as well as in perfumery and medicine.
A close relative,
Commiphora gileadensis, yields the biblical Balm of Gilead, which is also known Balm of Mecca.
Frankincense also became the source of a male name, at least fictionally, in the 1954 movie
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, directed by Stanley Donnen and starring Howard Keel and Jane Powell. Set in Oregon Territory in 1850, it tells how six brothers follow the eldest, Adam, into matrimony. Apparently their devout father couldn’t recall more biblical names after the first six and so came up with Frankincense – mercifully shortened to Frank.
