Frankincense

==Description==
[[File:Boswellia sacra.jpg|thumb|Flowers and branches of the ''[[Boswellia sacra]]'' tree]]

The trees start producing [[resin]] at about eight to 10 years old.<ref name="oman">{{cite web|url=http://www.omanwhs.gov.om/english/Frank/FrankincenseTree.asp|title=Omani World Heritage Sites|publisher=www.omanwhs.gov.om|access-date=2009-01-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012183204/http://omanwhs.gov.om/English/Frank/FrankincenseTree.asp|archive-date=2008-10-12}}</ref> Tapping is done two to three times per year with the final taps producing the best tears because of their higher aromatic [[terpene]], [[sesquiterpene]] and [[diterpene]] content. Generally speaking, the more opaque resins are the best quality. Cheap resin is produced in the [[Horn of Africa]], which is the [[Roman Catholic Church]]'s major source.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8505251.stm|title=Frankincense: Could it be a cure for cancer?|date=2010-02-09|access-date=2021-07-04|website=BBC World News| vauthors = Howell J }}</ref>

The main species in trade are:
* ''[[Boswellia sacra]]'': [[South Arabia]].{{r|"Michael2012"|page=10}}
** ''Boswellia bhaw-dajiana'' (older spelling ''Boswellia bhau-dajiana''): Horn of Africa<!--Do not add or rewrite to "Somalia" or "Somaliland"  because these words invite edit-wars of territorial dispute which is irrelevant to the topic.-->.{{r|"Thulin1987"|page=487}} It is a [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]] of ''Boswellia sacra''
** ''Boswellia carteri'' (older spelling ''Boswellia carterii''): Horn of Africa<!--Do not add or rewrite to "Somalia" or "Somaliland"  because these words invite edit-wars of territorial dispute which is irrelevant to the topic.-->, Nubia.{{r|"Michael2012"|page=10}} It was long considered an independent species,<ref name="Birdwood1871">{{Cite journal|title=On the Genus Boswellia, with Descriptions and Figures of three new Species|journal=[[Transactions of the Linnean Society of London]]|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.79869488&view=1up&seq=179&skin=2021| vauthors = Birdwood G |volume=27|pages=111–148, plates Tab.29–32|via=Hathitrust|issue=2|hdl=2027/chi.79869488?urlappend=%3Bseq=179|year=1870|doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1870.tb00205.x|language=en|access-date=2021-07-16|hdl-access=free}} <!--paywall {{DOI|10.1111/j.1096-3642.1870.tb00205.x}}--></ref>{{rp|138}} but in the 1980s it was determined to be a synonym of ''Boswellia sacra''.<ref name="Kew_BoswelliaCarteri">{{Cite web|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:127038-1|title=Boswellia carteri Birdw..<!--Intentional double-period to prevent the Cite template from automatically pushing a single-period out of the doublequote.--> |access-date=2021-07-16|website=[[Plants of the World Online]]|publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]]|quote=This is a synonym of Boswellia sacra Flück; Not accepted by Govearts,R.(1996).}}</ref><ref name="Thulin1987">{{Cite journal|title=The Frankincense Trees (Boswellia spp., Burseraceae) of Northern Somalia and Southern Arabia|journal=[[Kew Bulletin]]|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4110063| vauthors = Thulin M, Warfa AM |volume=42|via=JSTOR |issue=3|doi=10.2307/4110063|year=1987|pages=488, 492|language=en|jstor=4110063|bibcode=1987KewBu..42..487T |url-access=registration}}</ref>
* ''[[Boswellia serrata]]'' (synonym ''Boswellia thurifera'', Indian frankincense): India.{{r|"Michael2012"|page=10}}
* ''[[Boswellia papyrifera]]'': Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan.{{r|"Michael2012"|page=10}}
* ''[[Boswellia frereana]]'': Horn of Africa<!--Do not add or rewrite to "Somalia" or "Somaliland"  because these words invite edit-wars of territorial dispute which is irrelevant to the topic.-->.{{r|"Michael2012"|page=10}} The resin is less bitter and the fragrance of incense is less "heavy" than ''Boswellia sacra''.{{r|"Thulin1987"|page=497}} Contains no boswellic acids.{{r|"Michael2012"|page=19}}

Other notable species:
* ''[[Boswellia occulta]]'':<ref name="Kew_BoswelliaOcculta">{{Cite web|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77195494-1|title=Boswellia occulta Thulin|access-date=2021-07-16|website=[[Plants of the World Online]]|publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]]}}</ref> Horn of Africa<!--Do not add or rewrite to "Somalia" or "Somaliland"  because these words invite edit-wars of territorial dispute which is irrelevant to the topic.-->. In 2019, it was discovered that Somali harvesters considered ''Boswellia occulta'' to be the same species with ''Boswellia carteri'' even though their shapes are different, and sold resins from both species as the same thing. However, the chemical compositions of their essential oils are completely different.<ref name="Johnson2019">{{cite journal | vauthors = Johnson S, DeCarlo A, Satyal P, Dosoky NS, Sorensen A, Setzer WN | title = Organic Certification is Not Enough: The Case of the Methoxydecane Frankincense | journal = Plants | volume = 8 | issue = 4 | pages = 88– | date = April 2019 | pmid = 30987305 | pmc = 6524464 | doi = 10.3390/plants8040088 | publisher = MDPI | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Recent studies indicate that frankincense tree populations are declining, partly from [[overexploitation]].<ref name=nyt>{{cite news| vauthors = Klein J |title=Could This Be the End of Frankincense?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/05/science/frankincense-trees-collapse.html?ribbon-ad-idx=5&rref=science|access-date=5 July 2019|work=[[New York Times]]|date=5 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="AP-20161225">{{cite news| vauthors = Patinkin J |title=World's last wild frankincense forests are under threat|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/worlds-last-wild-frankincense-forests-084122152.html|access-date=25 December 2016|work=Yahoo Finance|agency=Associated Press|date=25 December 2016}}</ref> Heavily tapped trees produce seeds that germinate at only 16% while seeds of trees that had not been tapped germinate at more than 80%. In addition, burning, grazing, and attacks by the [[longhorn beetle]] have reduced the tree population.<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Melina R |title=Christmas Staple Frankincense 'Doomed,' Ecologists Warn |date=December 21, 2011 |url=http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/21/christmas-staple-frankincense-doomed-ecologists-warn/ |publisher=LiveScience}}</ref> Conversion (clearing) of frankincense woodlands to agriculture is also a major threat.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dejenea T, Lemenih M, Bongers F |title=Manage or convert Boswellia woodlands? Can frankincense production payoff? |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |date=February 2013 |volume=89 |pages=77–83 |doi=10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.09.010|bibcode=2013JArEn..89...77D}}</ref>
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