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Myrrh is also used to prepare the sacramental chrism used by many churches of both Eastern and Western rites. In the Middle East, the Eastern Orthodox Church traditionally uses oil scented with myrrh (and other fragrances) to perform the sacrament of chrismation, which is commonly referred to as "receiving the Chrism".
The incense trade route was an ancient network of major land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant and Egypt through Northern East Africa and Arabia to India and beyond.
Commiphora myrrha, called myrrh, [1] African myrrh, [1] herabol myrrh, [1] Somali myrrhor, [1] common myrrh, [3] is a tree in the family Burseraceae. It is one of the primary trees used in the production of myrrh , a resin made from dried tree sap .
The Latin Myrrha originated from the Ancient Greek múrrā, but, ultimately, the word is of Semitic origin, with roots in the Arabic murr, the Hebrew mōr, and the Aramaic mūrā, all meaning "bitter" [4] as well as referring to the plant. [5] [6] Regarding smyrna, the word is a Greek dialectic form of myrrha. [7]
During the Early to Middle Eocene (about 53 Mya), family members dispersed to eastern Laurasia (i.e. Europe and Asia) via the Boreotropical Land Bridge and the continents in the Southern Hemisphere, which is now the area of the greatest generic diversity of this family. [5]
Commiphora is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae.The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the (sub-) tropical regions of Africa, the western Indian Ocean islands, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and South America.
Herdsmen of the northern Sahel follow the rainfall patterns and the C. africana trees as they come into leaf, continually finding new areas for their animals to browse. This species is the preferred food plant of the beetle Diamphidia , the larva of which is used as a potent arrow poison.
The Neolithic founder crops (or primary domesticates) are the eight plant species that were domesticated by early Holocene (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B) farming communities in the Fertile Crescent region of southwest Asia, and which formed the basis of systematic agriculture in the Middle East, North Africa, India ...