Boswellia sacra Flueck.
اللبان، مغرة، مغر، مغيروت، الصمغ الراتينجي
For people
- Eaten by people
- Edible
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Limited fodder
- Toxic to livestock
- Unknown
Edibility and safety notes
The hardened resin (frankincense, luban) is the part people consume: clean, pale pieces are chewed like gum, and the resin is used in small amounts to flavour food and drinks. It is not a staple food; no source lists a known hazard for the resin, but its safety has not been positively established, and the concentrated essential oil should not be swallowed. The field guide's statement that the ripe fruit is eaten could not be confirmed elsewhere. Camels and goats browse the tree, heavily enough to hinder its regeneration; its feeding value and safety for livestock are not documented.
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Description
A small tree, usually up to about 5 m tall (reported up to 8 m), with a single trunk or several trunks arising from the base and papery, peeling bark. Leaves alternate, compound, crowded at the ends of the branches, odd-pinnate with 6-8 pairs of sessile, almost opposite, oblong-ovate leaflets that increase in size towards the tip; the terminal leaflet is the largest, 15-40 mm long and 8-20 mm wide, with a wavy, scalloped margin and a truncate base; the lower surface is more densely hairy than the upper. Flowers white, in loose axillary racemes up to about 10 cm long clustered at the branch tips; calyx with 5 indistinct teeth; petals 5, white, 3.5-4 mm long and about 3 mm wide; stamens 10, inserted outside a fleshy disc. Fruit an obovoid capsule 8-12 mm long and 6-7 mm across, 3-5-angled and splitting into 3-5 valves, each with one seed, green turning reddish or brown when ripe. Flowers March to May.
Habitat
Arid and semi-humid mountain areas of Dhofar, on rocky slopes and in ravines, mostly on limestone, from near sea level up to about 1200 m.
Distribution
North-east tropical Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia) and southern Arabia (Yemen and Oman). In Oman it grows in Dhofar Governorate in the south.
Pastoral value
The leaves are well browsed by livestock, especially camels and goats; the tree produces leaves and flowers even in drought. Heavy browsing limits flowering, seed set and regeneration.
Other uses
The frankincense tree is of great economic and tourism importance. Its gum-resin (frankincense, olibanum) is burnt as incense and used in perfumes, cosmetics and oils; it is also chewed and used to flavour food. The wood is used as fuel for cooking and lighting, the bark as a remedy and for scenting clothes, and the flowers are a nectar source for honey bees; the field guide also says the ripe fruit is eaten. Traditionally the resin has been used for inflammation of the eyes, gums and teeth, for abdominal and chest pain, bronchitis, joint pain, wind, bleeding and to clean wounds, as a general tonic, and it is drunk dissolved in water. The leaves and bark are used to tan hides brown, charcoal of the plant is ground to clean the teeth, the powdered resin is used in skin and hair care, and the bark is used as fish bait. These are traditional uses, not medical advice.
Sources
- كتاب نباتات عمان
- Useful Tropical Plants — Boswellia sacra (resin chewed and used as flavouring; no known hazards; heavy browsing in Oman) — tropical.theferns.info
- Alaamri 2012, Journal of Life Sciences 6: 632-636 — Distribution of Boswellia sacra in Dhofar Mountains (chewing, food flavouring, livestock feed) — eso.org.om
- Wikipedia — Boswellia sacra — en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia — Frankincense — en.wikipedia.org
- Flora of Qatar — Boswellia sacra (synonyms; cultivated specimen) — floraofqatar.com
- The Globe and Mail - Frankincense, Oman's white gold (seen in search results) — theglobeandmail.com