Boswellia
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Boswellia sacra , illustration |
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Boswellia is a genus of plants in the balsam tree family(Burseraceae).
description
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Vegetative characteristics
Boswellia species grow as trees and reach heights of 1.5 to 8 meters. They contain milky resin , which is found in schizogenic excreta of the bark. They have a paper-like peeling bark .
The leaves are mostly pinnate unpaired. Falling stipules are sometimes found.
Generative characteristics
Boswellia species are mostly hermaphroditic or dioecious dioecious . The inflorescences are in bunches or panicles and are up to 25 centimeters long. The mostly hermaphrodite flowers are five-fold with a double flower envelope and a fleshy discus . The 10 stamens are in two circles. The ovary is on top.
Multi-seeded pseudo- capsule fruits or opening, compound stone fruits are formed. The individual seeds are each in a housing (pyrene).
distribution
The species of the genus Boswellia grow in arid regions around the Horn of Africa ( Somalia , Ethiopia , Eritrea , Sudan ), in Arabia ( Dhofar in southern Oman , Hadramaut in Yemen ) and in India . The habitat of these woods extends in a barren landscape between rocks and cliffs up to a height of 1200 m above sea level. NN .
Systematics
The genus Boswellia includes the following species:
- Boswellia dalzielii Hutch. - Dalziels Frankincense, West Africa
- Boswellia frereana Birdw. - Elemi incense
- Boswellia nana Hepper , endemic to Socotra
- Boswellia papyrifera (Delile ex Caill.) Hochst. - Ethiopian frankincense (Syn .: Amyris papyrifera Caill. Ex Delile )
- Boswellia sacra Flück. - Arabian frankincense, also Somali frankincense (Syn .: Boswellia bhaw-dajiana Birdw. ) - Red Sea (coast), South Arabia (Hadramaut), Somaliland, Eritrea.
- Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr. - Indian frankincense (Syn .: Boswellia glabra Roxb. ), Salai tree, salt room
Use of Indian incense
The frankincense resin ( olibanum ) is extracted from the milky gum resin by air drying .
The extraction of frankincense resin begins between the end of March and the beginning of April and lasts for several months. Cuts are made on the trunk and branches of the trees. The first harvest only results in a very poor quality resin, which was previously thrown away, but is now marketed. Three weeks later, an acceptable quality is harvested, which gets better and cleaner over the next few weeks. The resin yield per tree depends on the age, size and condition of the tree and is between 3 kg and 10 kg. After several annual harvests, the tree is given a break of several years.
literature
- M. Paul: Chemotaxonomic Investigations on Resins of the Frankincense Species Boswellia papyrifera, Boswellia serrata and Boswellia sacra, respectively, Boswellia carterii: A Qualitative and Quantitative Approach by Chromatographic and Spectroscopic Methodology. Dissertation, Saarland University 2012 ( PDF )
