Commiphora guidottii (scented myrrh)

Commiphora guidottii is native to Somalia and Ethiopia. It is fairly widespread in Somalia and in adjacent parts of the Ogaden in Ethiopia.

A shrub or tree growing up to 5 m tall, scented myrrh has greenish or brownish peeling bark. The leaves are composed of 3 or 5-7 leaflets, 2.5 x 10 cm long when fully mature and oval to broadly oval in shape. The flowers are cream in colour and very small, being only a few mm wide at most. The fruit is rounded, about 1 cm in diameter and contains a single stone.

Commiphora guidottii grows in arid and often inaccessible areas. No recent assessment has been made of the conservation status of wild populations, but habitat degradation, overcutting of trees for charcoal production, and the expansion of agricultural activities, were all noted as threats to this species when the last assessment was made in 1998. No conservation measures are known to have been taken.

Scented myrrh is a yellowish-red sweet-smelling resin. It oozes from damaged bark of certain trees in the genus Commiphora. The resin gums up the mouthparts of attacking insects, such as termites, and its antibiotic properties protect the trees against infection through wounds in their bark. As with frankincense, myrrh is harvested by making an incision in the trunk of the tree, from which the gum then seeps out.

The major commercial source of myrrh is the related species Commiphora myrrha, although the myrrh of the Bible is believed to be C. guidottii. Lower grade resin is also obtained from C. habessinica, C. holtziana, C. kua and C. gileadensis (the source of balm of Gilead). Together with frankincense, myrrh is a common ingredient in the incense used in religious ceremonies. Ancient Egyptians used the gum resin to preserve mummies - its antibiotic qualities reduced decay, as it helped to prevent the tissues falling apart, and it smelt sweetly. C. guidottii was mentioned by Pliny as ‘the scented myrrh,’ and was used by the Romans as incense in temples.

The resin from C. guidottii is added to cattle feed to improve milk production. Somali people use it to treat stomach complaints, to facilitate the withdrawal of the placenta after childbirth, and for the topical treatment of wounds. The resin from Commiphora species is traded under the names scented myrrh, or opopanax. Confusingly, the name opopanax is also applied to a gum derived from Opopanax chironium (a herb in the carrot family, Apiaceae). Scented myrrh is exported to Europe where it is used in the perfume industry, and to China (which comprises the largest market for this resin). 

Pressed and dried specimens of Commiphora guidottii are held in the Herbarium, one of the behind-the-scenes areas of Kew. Details, including images, of some of these can be seen on-line in the Herbarium Catalogue.

Samples of myrrh oil, gum and resin derived from the related species Commiphora myrrha are held in the Economic Botany Collection.

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Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL)