Harvests of myrrh, another fragrant resin which comes from another species of desert tree, have also suffered from the effects of long-term drought.
The gumbo-limbo, or incense tree (Bursera simaruba), has light, reddish brown wood that is used for fishing floats; its fragrant resin is used in incense.
The fragrant resin had once been required for the incense that burned on altars from Jerusalem and Cairo to Rome, a substance so precious that it made a fitting gift from a King of the East to a new-born god.
From time immemorial, southern Arabia (Arabia Felix of antiquity) had been a trading centre for frankincense, myrrh, and other fragrant resins and gums.
Boswellia may not be a familiar treename to you, but you will know the fragrant gum resin drawn from the trees of this genus from its key role in Christmas carols and nativity plays.
To signal the passage of a specific amount of time, small pieces of fragrant woods, resins, or different scented incenses could be placed on the incense powder trails.
A profusion of fragrant images, of resins, of orange peel, of grapefruit, of carrot, of opoponax, of juniper, an odor that was sweet and sour, vivid and mild.
For example, the burning of many fragrant woods and resins has been practiced for thousands of years in religious ceremonies, including in ancient Egyptian practices relating to Nefertem, the god of perfume, perfection, and beauty.
Frankincense and myrrh are both fragrant oils or resins used to make incense and are named after the trees from which they're obtained; the frank– of frankincense is an old French word essentially meaning "high-quality", while myrrh comes from an old Arabic word meaning "bitter".
The burning of fragrant herbs, barks, resins, woods and flowers was part of the religious and spiritual practice of many ancient cultures and still is.
Tannin, sandarac resin, and fragrant oils can be extracted from the trees, and several species are grown as ornamentals.
