Frankincense & Myrrh

Common Name: Frankincense and Myrrh

Botanical Name: Boswellia carteri or sacra (Frankincense)
Commiphora myrrha (Myrrh)

Origin: Somalia, Southern Arabia and Northern India

Appearance: Pale to greenish yellow (Frankincense)
Yellowish to orange (Myrrh)

Aroma: Fresh, peppery, balsamic, lemony (Frankincense)
Rich, balsamic, spicy (Myrrh)

Frankincense

Myrrh

Frankincense, also called Boswellia, and Myrrh or Commiphora myrrha have a number of historic uses. Weathered by extreme desert conditions, the trees from which these resins come, become like large bonsai trees. Become emotionally uplifted with the oils of Frankincense and Myrrh by blending Frankincense with lemon oil and bergamot oil or Myrrh with orange oil and tangerine oil.

Frankincense and myrrh have been used in the east for a thousand years with frankincense being mentioned in the Bible 22 times. The earliest recorded use of frankincense is found inscribed on 15th century BC Egyptian queen Hathsepsut’s tomb. Ancient Egyptians burned frankincense and myrrh as incense. The charred resin from frankincense was ground into a powder called kohl and used to make the distinctive, familiar black eyeliner seen in Egyptian art. Myrrh resin was an important ingredient used for embalming with the crude resin sometimes being placed in the disemboweled body cavities of mummies.

Frankincense and myrrh essential oils are distilled from the resin of two separate but related trees of the burseraceae family. Plants of this family are often shaped into naturally large bonsai trees due to the extreme desert conditions, with contorted trunks and stubby branches. The many species of frankincense (Boswellia) and myrrh (Commiphora) grow from east Africa through southern Arabia and into northwestern India. There are four main species of Boswellia and two of Commiphora. Boswellia carteri and boswellia frereana grow in Somalia. B. sacra grows in southern Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman, where its resin and essential oil are known as African elemi (not to be confused with true elemi essential oil, which comes from a Philippine tree). B. serrata grows in India and its resin and essential oil are known as Indian olibanum. Commiphora myrrha or true myrrh occurs in Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, along with about eight other species which are often mixed together in commercially available crude resin.

Frankincense and myrrh tree trucks release a sticky substance called oleo gum resin. This oleo gum resin is made up of approximately 65% gum, 30% resin and 4% essential oil (frankincense), and 45% gum, 30% resin and 4% essential oil (myrrh). The tree trunks are cut to release the resin, which dries in the hot desert sun into hard knobby masses called tears, appropriately named since myrrh traditionally symbolizes suffering, while frankincense symbolizes divinity.

Crude frankincense and myrrh resin may be treated with chemical solvents to produce an almost solid resinoid or steam distilled to produce an essential oil. Viscous resinoids are extracted with high-grade, odorless alcohols sometimes passed off as distilled essential oils.

Frankincense oil is slightly viscous and yellow to green with a deeply balsamic, fresh-resinous fragrance. Good quality frankincense oil hints of sweet-lemony or green apple-like aroma. Thin, turpentine or solvent-like, weak, short-lived aromas indicate poor quality or adulterated frankincense oil.

Myrrh oil is slightly viscous, yellowish to amber orange with a warm-spicy, balsamic aroma. Thick, dark brown oils may be extracted resinoids useful as perfume fixatives, not steam distilled essential oils, more appropriate for aromatherapy.

Frankincense and myrrh are often used in aromatherapy for their deeply meditative quality. Equal proportions may be blended and diffused for emotional balance during anxiety or stress or during prayer and meditation. Blending frankincense with citrus oils like lemon oil and bergamot oil or blending myrrh with orange oil and tangerine oil produces a lighter, cleaner, more uplifting aroma and emotionally inspiring aroma. Frankincense and myrrh alone are best for emotional insight.

To learn more about aromatherapy, click Learn and view topics under Aromatherapy, Essential Oils, & Lavender. See items under Aromatherapy Oil Information & Recipes to learn more about individual essential oils and the plants from which they come with more aromatherapy recipes included.