What Are Frankincense and Myrrh?

Both frankincense and myrrh are resins derived from tree sap. During ancient times, these aromatic resins were valuable commodities.

Frankincense

Frankincense is a milky white resin extracted from the Boswellia tree, or Frankincense tree, which thrives in arid, cool areas of the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa and India.

The finest and most aromatic of this species is Boswellia sacra, a small tree that grows in Somalia, Oman and Yemen. These plants, which grow to a height of 16 feet (5 meters), have papery bark, sparse bunches of paired leaves, and flowers with white petals and a yellow or red center.

Myrrh

Myrrh resin is a reddish color and comes from species of the genus Commiphora, which is native to northeast Africa and the adjacent areas of the Arabian Peninsula. Commiphora myrrha, a tree commonly used in the production of myrrh, grows best in the shallow, rocky soils of Ethiopia, Kenya, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. It boasts spiny branches with sparse leaves that grow in groups of three and can reach 9 feet (3 meters).

Resin Extraction

The processes for extracting the resins of Boswellia (for frankincense) and Commiphora (for myrrh) are nearly identical. Harvesters make a longitudinal cut in the tree's trunk, which pierces gum resin reservoirs within the bark.

The sap slowly oozes from the cut and drips down the tree, forming tear-shaped droplets left to harden on the side of the tree. Harvesters collect the hard resin after two weeks.

People have produced frankincense and myrrh for some 5,000 years. For much of this time, these aromatic resins were the region's most important commodity, with a trade network that reached across Africa, Asia and Europe.

Today, the demand for frankincense and myrrh has subsided, but numerous Chinese, Greek, Latin and Sanskrit sources remind us of their past importance in the ancient world.

Personal Care

In a time before daily bathing, people would use the smoke from the resins to make themselves smell better. Egyptian women utilized the ash of burned frankincense resin as makeup, mixing it into their eye shadow.

Ceremony

Ancient religious ceremonies and burials often incorporated frankincense and myrrh. According to the Greek writer Herodotus, the Egyptians used frankincense and myrrh to prepare animal sacrifices and human mummies. Hebrews and Christians incorporated the resins into their ceremonies in the third century B.C.E. and fourth century C.E., respectively.

Health Benefits

For thousands of years, people used frankincense and myrrh as medicine. In the Ebers papyrus of 1500 B.C.E., priests recommended both resins for treating wounds. Other ailments frankincense and myrrh reportedly cured include hemlock poisoning, leprosy, worms, snakebites, diarrhea, plague, scurvy and even baldness.

Trade

The high demand for frankincense and myrrh created a booming trade in the Middle East, lasting several hundred years. In the first century, around the height of the trade, Pliny the Elder claimed that Arabia produced approximately 1,680 tons (1,524 metric tons) of frankincense and around 448 tons (406 metric tons) of myrrh each year.

One of the most important resin trade centers surrounded the Shisr oasis in southern Oman. This outpost exported frankincense across Mesopotamia, India and China from about 300 B.C.E. to the third century C.E. The ruins of the settlement remain as a UNESCO World Heritage site known as "The Land of Frankincense."

In the Bible

These resins were widely available when the three wise men visited the baby Jesus around 5 B.C.E. and would have been considered practical gifts with many uses. The expensive resins were symbolic as well.

Frankincense, often burned, symbolized prayer rising to the heavens like smoke, while myrrh, often used in embalming, symbolized death. Scholars think that frankincense was presented to baby Jesus to represent his later role as a high priest for believers, while myrrh symbolized his eventual death and burial.

Frankincense and myrrh may not be as popular as they once were, but they're still used today in ways you might not expect. Their essential oils are used in modern perfumes and cosmetics, continuing a tradition that has lasted thousands of years. You can also buy frankincense essential oil on its own (the same goes for myrrh essential oil) or resins to burn.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine have employed frankincense and myrrh for centuries, and scientists continue to explore new medicinal uses.

A 2016 study found frankincense was a good anti-inflammatory (which can help with pain relief), and a 2019 study suggests that frankincense and myrrh essential oils may have analgesic effects. The researchers of the latter study determined that when the two are combined, they have amazing anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer pharmacological effects, though they acknowledged more studies are needed to verify the synergistic efficacy.