UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service

Frankincense is one of the symbols of the holiday season that is full of mystery and wonder. It was one of the gifts of the Magi, said to be used as currency and as a source of wealth. Frankincense was and is used in both modern and ancient times as incense and an herbal remedy for many health problems.

So what exactly is Frankincense? It is the dried sap of a tree, generally Boswellia sacra, a native to Arabia, India, and Ethiopia. This deciduous medium-sized tree or large shrub has ash colored bark that tends to peel in flakes, and grows fuzzy leaves with toothed edges. Boswellia usually grows in very arid places in soil that is not much more than polished rock.

Stuart Landscape Consultant Carol Bailey was reading of some recent work being done with Frankincense. Cal Fullerton researchers have successfully grown this desert plant in containers with rock-like soil, dry conditions. Plants even withstood temperatures slightly below freezing, very much like the temperatures that citrus trees would take. It is possible that Frankincense could be grown in this area if kept on the dry side.

The actual Frankincense of commerce is a clump of dried resin from this tree. A deep cut is made in the bark and a strip of bark is removed. From this wound a milky sap drips down and in about three months the resin to hardens into large, clear globules that are scraped off for market.

During the Roman Empire, frankincense trade was at its height. At that time "tears" of frankincense resin were as valuable as gems or precious metals. The Romans burned frankincense on their altars and at cremations. Some mixed frankincense with wine and myrrh to create a "strong drink" which eased pain. Pliny the Elder, one of the first systemic botanists, recommended Frankincense as an antidote to poison. Egyptians used frankincense to make cosmetics, embalm dead bodies, and provide a fragrant fire to warm their homes. It also said that the mythical Phoenix bird was thought to build its funeral pyre out of frankincense and myrrh

Frankincense today is used as an incense, burnt during some church services and funerals to show respect. Medicinally, it is rarely used anymore, though it was used to cure a variety of ills in the past. Please do not try any of the uses without first checking with your doctor or specialist.

Picture a short scrubby bush, no more than 9 feet tall, with bent branches covered with long spines and very small leaves. It you are wandering in the searing hot deserts of Arabia or on the horn of Africa, you may have encountered a Myrrh bush, Commiphora momol, source of a second gift of the three Kings.

Cracks in the bark of the Myrrh plant fill with a resinous sap that is also extracted by bleeding out cuts in the bark and allowing this sap to dry into red brown clumps the size of walnuts. A liquid form of Myrrh was known as Stacte by Pliny, and it was an ingredient of Jewish holy incense. It was greatly valued in the ancient world, but of less importance in commerce today.

There are some cheap imitations, and the kinds of myrrh preferred by those still using it for medicinal purposes are collected in Ethiopia and shipped to Bombay, India. Like frankincense, myrrh is an ingredient in some incenses, but it may also be used as an adhesive or as a cure for various medical aliments.

For the curious, it is possible to search out sources of these products today from dealers in spices and herbs. I’ve placed photos of these holiday plants and the gifts obtained from them, as well as some links to other references on our website at http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.

And here’s the gold: Okeechobee, Highlands and Glades Counties will soon be holding a three-county training program for Master Gardeners. This is the first time that our county will host a full fledged class of these golden volunteers. Master Gardeners receive approximately 55 hours of training in horticulture and agree to provide 75 hours of service to the community through the Extension Service. They are provided with an extensive set of reference materials if accepted into this training program.

Classes will be held beginning soon and continue for 9 consecutive weeks. Trained volunteers will then mentor with veterans and will be an important part of the new Florida Yards & Neighborhood program, now in our area . Details, including an application form, are being posted on our county Extension website. If you are interested in learning more about Master Gardeners, please call or visit our office. If you live in Glades County, call Shelly Humphries at (863) 946-0244; if you live in Highlands County, call Chris Andrews at (863) 402-6540.

Master Gardeners can answer your questions about your Florida Yard - call or visit them on Tuesday afternoons here at our office. If you need additional information, visit out webpage at http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu, or stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North. Our phone number is (863) 763-6469, and you can email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu . Have a Merry Christmas!

MYRRH AND FRANKINCENSE 5/2003

Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon

Myrrh

Frankincense

Royal Botanical Gardens - Kew, England

GROWING THE FRANKINCENSE TREE

Boswellia sacra

Boswellia carterii

Yvonne Steiner' s personal observations on growing her Frankincense plant (May 2008) in Northern Virginia.

For Ms. Steiner's ongoing observations and additional information on growing Frankincense trees, visit her website on Myspace.com

Origin: East Africa (particularly Oman, Socotra, Somalia). Family: Burseraceae, tree.

Genera: Although there are about 25 different genera of Boswellia. The three main ones are 1) B. sacra syn. Carterii producing the highest quality frankincense resin (adapted to arid zones); B. sacra adapted to Oman and Yemen and B. carterii to northeast Somalia), 2) B. frearana (adapted to very arid conditions, e.g., northeast Somalia), and 3) B. papyrifera (adapted to arid and semi-arid zones, e.g., Djibouti).

Growth: – 7-8 m tall, branching at the base.

Soil: Gravelly and Calcareous soils. Resin of highest quality was associated with trees deficient in N, P, K, but relatively high in Na. Poorer quality resin was found in nutritionally less stressed trees. (See http://www.springerlink.com/content/rj778017124u3861/, by Peter Cookson, peterc@squ.edu.om).

Trees are usually found growing in mountainous climates with only the moisture of morning dew on rocks and hillsides and dry river beds, which rich soil deposits of limestone are found, rainfall is less than 10 cm annually, which is difficult to reproduce.

Flower: Small yellow/white flowers in Spring.

Sun: Intense direct full sun.

Temperature range: Unknown. I wouldn't test its resilience to freezing temperatures.

Water: Water when in active growth; keep dry when dormant; very drought tolerant; very sensitive to over-watering. I water mine about 1x / week all year. Treated as a houseplant, it does not loose its leaves in Winter if provided with a lot of sun.

Plant Personality: If you buy a B. sacra or B. carterii and are somehow lucky enough to keep it alive, you will notice it is, well, singularly in want of solitude. Most plants aren't communicative. They live, grow and die without expressing themselves to you. B. sacra and B. carterii are unlike all other plants I've ever had. One day, you walk away after carefully observing the tree's progress and realize it did not appreciate your looking at it, so you start pretending you're looking at something else while casually walking by. I'm not kidding or nuts. Other owners have reported the same. Perhaps this is why B. sacra and B. carterii enjoy the solitude of craggy hillsides in lonely inhospitable deserts. I think it gets nervous or something. You'll know when you upset it as it will start dropping leaves. DO NOT look at it too long. DO NOT move (jostle) it about. DO NOT change its watering or fertilizing schedule. Only repot it once every several years when absolutely necessary. Leave it alone!

The good thing, however, is that for as temperamental as this tree is, it is also very forgiving and will bounce back if you remedy whatever it is your doing that upsets it.

Propagation: 1) Seed, direct sow after last frost. Allow unblemished fruit to ripen, 2-4 days in shade to soften and rot pulp, remove pulp, air dry seed, by 7 weeks, stored seeds 100% unviable; ground germination best; poor rate of establishment. 2) woody stem cuttings. 3) root cuttings. NOTE: It is reported by Arid Lands that B. sacra only can be propagated from seed and stem cuttings, and stems are difficult to root. B. carterii is propagated from seed and root cuttings.

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