description
Myrrh is not actually a plant but rather a plant product, one of the oldest
plant products still in active use. One of the trees that produce myrrh,
Commiphora molmol, when slit with a knife, exudes a gummy white resinous sap
that hardens quickly in the sun. This hardened sap is myrrh.
The myrrh tree is a squat, shrubby, and thorny tree of the Burseraceae family.
The trees that yield resin do not grow more than 9 feet in height, but they
are of a sturdy build. They have knotted branches with branchlets that stand out at
right-angles, ending in a sharp spine. The trifoliate leaves are scanty, small
and very unequal, oval and entire.
There are ducts in the bark, and the tissue between them breaks down, forming
large cavities, which, with the remaining ducts, becomes filled with a granular
secretion which is freely discharged when the bark is wounded, or from natural
fissures. It flows as a pale yellow liquid, but hardens to a reddish-brown mass,
being found in commerce in tears of many sizes, the average being that of a
walnut. The surface is rough and powdered, and the pieces are brittle, with a
granular fracture, semi-transparent, oily, and often show whitish marks. The
odor and taste are aromatic, the latter also acrid and bitter.
common names & nomenclature
The word myrrh is derived from the Aramaic word murr, meaning "was bitter".
Also known as:
myrrh, myrrh gum, common myrrh, commiphora myrrha
