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Frankincense
(Boswellia carteri Birdw) (Birdw.)
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Frankincense
Where To Found It: Arabia, Somaliland.
Obtained from the leafy forest tree Boswellia Thurifera,
with leaves deciduous, alternate towards the tops of branches, unequally
pinnated; leaflets in about ten pairs with an odd one opposite,
oblong, obtuse, serrated, pubescent, sometimes alternate; petioles
short. Flowers, white or pale rose on short pedicels in single axillary
racemes shorter than the leaves. Calyx, small five-toothed, persistent;
corolla with five obovate-oblong, very patent petals, acute at the
base, inserted under the margin of the disk, acstivation slightly
imbricative. Stamens, ten, inserted under the disk, alternately
shorter; filaments subulate, persistent. Anthers, caducous, oblong.
Torus a cupshaped disk, fleshy, larger than calyx, crenulated margin.
Ovary, oblong, sessile. Style, one caducous, the length of the stamens;
stigma capitate, three-lobed. Fruit capsular, three-angled three-celled,
three-valved, septicidal, valves hard. Seeds, solitary in each cell
surrounded by a broad membranaceous wing. Cotyledons intricately
folded multifid.
The trees on the Somali coast grow, without soil, out of polished
marble rocks, to which they are attached by a thick oval mass of
substances resembling a mixture of lime and mortar. The young trees
furnish the most valuable gum, the older yielding merely a clear,
glutinous fluid, resembling coral varnish.
To obtain the Frankincense, a deep, longitudinal incision is made
in the trunk of the tree and below it a narrow strip of bark 5 inches
in length is peeled off. When the milk-like juice which exudes has
hardened by exposure to the air, the incision is deepened. In about
three months the resin has attained the required degree of consistency,
hardening into yellowish 'tears.' The large, clear globules are
scraped off into baskets and the inferior quality that has run down
the tree is collected separately. The season for gathering lasts
from May till the middle of September, when the first shower of
rain puts a close to the gathering for that year.
The coast of Southern Arabia is yearly visited by parties of Somalis,
who pay the Arabs for the privilege of collecting Frankincense,
and in the interior of the country, about the plain of Dhofar, during
the southwest Monsoon, Frankincense and other gums are gathered
by the Bedouins. (The incense of Dhofar is alluded to by the Portuguese
poet, Camoens.)
Resins 65 per cent, volatile oil 6 per cent, water-soluble gum
20 per cent, bassorin 6 to 8 per cent, plant residue 2 to 4 per
cent; the resins are composed of boswellic acid and alibanoresin.
Modern Uses: It is stimulant, but seldom
used now internally, though formerly was in great repute . Pliny
mentions it as an antidote to hemlock. Avicenna (tenth century)
recommends it for tumours, ulcers, vomiting, dysentery and fevers.
In China it is used for leprosy.
Its principal use now is in the manufacture of incense and pastilles.
It is also used in plasters and might be substituted for Balsam
of Peru or Balsam or Tolu. The inhalation of steam laden with the
volatile portion of the drug is said to relieve bronchitis and laryngitis.
The ceremonial incense of the Jews was compounded of four 'sweet
scents,' of which pure Frankincense was one, pounded together in
equal proportion. It is frequently mentioned in the Pentateuch.
Pure Frankincense formed part of the meet offering and was also
presented with the shew-bread every Sabbath day. With other spices,
it was stored in a great chamber of the House of God at Jerusalem.
According to Herodotus, Frankincense to the amount of 1,000 talents
weight was offered every year, during the feast of Bel, on the great
altar of his temple in Babylon. The religious use of incense was
as common in ancient Persia as in Babylon and Assyria. Herodotus
states that the Arabs brought every year to Darius as tribute 1,000
talents of Frankincense, and the modern Parsis of Western India
still preserve the ritual of incense.
Frankincense, though the most common, never became the only kind
of incense offered to the gods among the Greeks. According to Pliny,
it was not sacrificially employed in Trojan times. Among the Romans,
the use of Frankincense (alluded to as mascula thura by Virgil
in the Eclogues) was not confined to religious ceremonials.
It was also used on state occasions, and in domestic life.
The kohl, or black powder with which the Egyptian women
paint their eyelids, is made of charred Frankincense, or other odoriferous
resin mixed with Frankincense. Frankincense is also melted to make
a depilatory, and it is made into a paste with other ingredients
to perfume the hands. A similar practice is described by Herodotus
as having been practiced by the women of Scythia and is alluded
to in Judith x. 3 and 4. In cold weather, the Egyptians warm their
rooms with a brazier whereon incense is burnt, Frankincense, Benzoin
and Aloe wood being chiefly used for the purpose.
The word 'incense,' meaning originally the aroma given off with
the smoke of any odoriferous substance when burnt, has been gradually
restricted almost exclusively to Frankincense, which has always
been obtainable in Europe in greater quantity than any other of
the aromatics imported from the East.
There is no fixed formula for the incense now used in the Christian
churches of Europe, but it is recommended that Frankincense should
enter as largely as possible intoits composition. In Rome, Olibanum
alone is employed: in the Russian church, Benzoin is chiefly employed.
The following is a formula for an incense used in the Roman Church:
Olibanum, 10 OZ. Benzoin, 4 oz. Storax, 1 OZ. Break into small pieces
and mix.
Other Name: Olibanum.
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