alafarmnews

Frankincense and myrrh
may be as valuable today
as in Biblical times

Frankincense and myrrh – it is the time of the year for us to hear these two words, which we have always heard in connection with the Christmas story. We are all familiar with the fact that these products were among the valuable gifts presented when Jesus was born.

Frankincense

How many of us are aware that frankincense and myrrh are herbal products? And how many of us know what they are used for?

Frankincense is a fragrant gum resin obtained principally, in our modern age, from a small tree called birdwood, olibanum or frankincense (Boswellia carteri). The frankincense of the Bible might have come from Boswellia sacra or Boswellia papyrifera. These plants grow primarily in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia.

Frankincense is mentioned in herbals which date back to 2800 B.C. In the Bible it is mentioned 16 times as an item of worship, three times as a product of Solomon’s garden, twice as a tribute of honor and only once as an item of merchandise. It continues to be used in some religious services today.

Early Egyptians highly valued this aromatic product for use in religious services, embalming and fumigating. Early people of the Bible region (Africa and Asia) used it as a medication for treatment of a large number of health problems. It is used today for many of the same ailments.

To obtain frankincense "tears," slashes are made into the bark of the trees. The milky juice that exudes from these slashes hardens within a couple of weeks to form tear-like droplets.

If you have ever cut or slashed a sweet gum tree, you will notice sap oozing out. In time the sap will harden into a gum that can be gathered and chewed. Frankincense "tears" are gathered in much the same way.

Pine resin, from which turpentine is made, is gathered in the same fashion. So is the maple sap from which sugar and syrup are made. Many others, including rubber, can be added to this list.

myrrh
Myrrh

Myrrh is another gum resin that is extracted by the same method. As this fragrant and bitter sap oozes from the tree, it gradually hardens and becomes wax-like. It resembles pearls. Some women were known to carry these "pearls" in their pocketbooks as a perfume.

Records state that myrrh was one of the ingredients of the holy oil used in the embalming of Christ.

Modern society finds many ways to use myrrh just as early people did. It is used in medicine, incense, perfume, soaps, lotions, creams, detergents and in mouthwash and gargles. It seems to have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in food, so you can possibly find it in puddings, gelatins, baked goods and alcoholic beverages.

In various places within its growing area, natives eat both roots and fruits. For instance, Ethiopians eat the roots raw. Ugandans make a tea by adding crushed, unripe seed to hot water. Cattle feed on the foliage.

In West Africa, the resin is used as an insecticide to control termites. Ghanaians fumigate their clothes with the fragrant smoke of the burning wood.

Some chew the stems to cleanse their teeth. The spiny shrub makes an excellent fence hedge. It makes good firewood and handles for tools and utensils. Both the wood and seeds are used in jewelry.

Myrrh comes from a number of trees that are all member of the Commiphora family. Like frank-incense, these trees grow primarily in the Bible region.

Probably more than one species of the Commiphora family of trees (shrubs might be a better word) is referred to in the Bible. However, they all share common traits that supply the Earth with a beautiful supply of useful products.

So the story goes, during the reign of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III (1475 B.C.), many plant specimens were imported from other lands. Myrrh, which did not grow in Egypt, was among these collected plants. In a series of paintings, this story was depicted on the walls of an Egyptian tomb.

With all the benefits of these plants, plus the fact that our world has renewed herb appreciation, they might be just as valuable today as they were at the time of our very first Christmas.