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Myrrh (/ m ɜːr /; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see § Etymology) is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the Commiphora genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. [1]
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 .
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.
Commiphora africana, commonly called African myrrh, is a small deciduous tree belonging to the Burseraceae, a family akin to the Anacardiaceae, occurring widely over ...
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]
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 kua, sometimes known as Abyssinian myrrh or the Yemen myrrh, is a plant native to northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi, Oman and Yemen. [2] [3] It was first described as Balsamodendrum kua in 1847, and has many botanical synonyms. [1]
Both species are native to parts of Northeast Africa (Somalia, frankincense; Somalia and Ethiopia, myrrh) and Arabia (Oman and Yemen, frankincense), but their distribution and use have been extended beyond these regions to India and China. [19] The best frankincense is grown in Oman and the incense is widely used in worship in India. [19]