Boswellia papyrifera

Typical habitat (Giba River gorge in Ethiopia) with, at left, a flowering Boswellia papyrifera tree

Boswellia papyrifera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Burseraceae
Genus: Boswellia
Species:
B. papyrifera
Binomial name
Boswellia papyrifera
(Delile ex Caill.) Hochst., 1843
Synonyms[1]
  • Amyris papyrifera Delile ex Caill.
  • Boswellia occidentalis Engl.

Boswellia papyrifera, also known as the Sudanese frankincense,[2] is a species of flowering plant and frankincense that is native to Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan. The tree is cultivated in Ethiopia because of its valuable resin. The incense is characterized by a fresh lemon-pine scent[3] and is therefore highly esteemed. In Ethiopia where it is called itan zaf,[4] it comes in semi-translucent yellow tears. The gum resin of Boswellia papyrifera coming from Ethiopia, Sudan and eastern Africa is believed to be the main source of frankincense of antiquity.[5]

  1. ^ "Boswellia papyrifera". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. ^ Äthiopischer Weihrauch (Ethiopian incense)
  3. ^ "Ethiopian Oils and Resins". Archived from the original on 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  4. ^ Agroforestry in Ethiopia Archived 2017-02-16 at the Wayback Machine, bottom of p. 3.
  5. ^ Tucker, Arthur O. (October 1986). "Frankincense and myrrh". Economic Botany. 40 (4): 425–433. doi:10.1007/BF02859654. S2CID 12460227.