Myrrh

==Extraction and production==
[[File:Commiphora myrrha - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-019.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Botanical illustration showing thorny branches of plant with small, oval-shaped leaves|''[[Commiphora myrrha]]'' tree, one of the primary trees from which myrrh is harvested]]
When a wound on a tree penetrates through the [[bark (botany)|bark]] and into the [[sapwood (wood)|sapwood]], the tree secretes a [[resin]]. Myrrh gum, like [[frankincense]], is such a resin. Myrrh is harvested by repeatedly wounding the trees to bleed the gum, which is waxy and coagulates quickly. After the harvest, the gum becomes hard and glossy. The gum is yellowish and may be either clear or opaque. It darkens deeply as it ages, and white streaks emerge.<ref>Caspar Neumann, William Lewis, ''The chemical works of Caspar Neumann, M.D.'',2nd Ed., Vol 3, London, 1773 p.55</ref>

Myrrh gum is commonly harvested from the species ''[[Commiphora myrrha]]''. Another commonly used name, ''Commiphora molmol'',<ref>Newnes, G., ed., ''Chambers's encyclopædia'', Volume 9,  1959</ref> is now considered a synonym for ''Commiphora myrrha''.<ref>''The Plant List''. 2013. Version 1.1. Published on the Internet: http://www.theplantlist.org/. Accessed on February 24, 2014.</ref>

''Commiphora myrrha'' is native to [[Somalia]], [[Oman]], [[Yemen]], [[Eritrea]], [[Somali Region|Somali Region of Ethiopia]] and parts of [[Saudi Arabia]]. Meetiga, a trade name for Arabian myrrh, is more brittle and gummy than the Somali variety and does not have the latter's white markings.

Liquid myrrh, or [[stacte]], which was written about by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]],<ref>Pliny the Elder with Bostock, John and Riley, Henry Thomas, trans. (1855)  [https://archive.org/stream/naturalhistoryof03plin#page/130 ''The Natural History of Pliny''.]  London, England, UK:  Henry G. Bohn. vol. 3, Book 12, Chapters 33–35, pp. 129–132.  From Ch. 35, p. 130:  "The [myrrh] tree spontaneously exudes, before the incision is made, a liquid which bears the name of stacte, and to which there is no myrrh that is superior."</ref> was formerly a greatly valued ingredient of Jewish holy incense, but is no longer commercially available.