Commiphora foliacea Sprague

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Arabian Balsam Tree
Balm of Gilead
Mecca Myrrh

In Omani studies: Miller & Morris (1988) wrote that: "A young plant can be dug up and the root peeled of its bark, and chewed, [J: mizgot, DA: medyigeh, medigeh], providing both nourishment and a refreshing liquid, but the taste is not as sweet, nor the quantity of liquid as great as that produced by other commiphoras. As the tree matures, the root becomes progressively more tough and the amount of liquid that can be expressed less and more sour. The fruit [J: okui] when fully ripe are edible, but again were not as highly thought of as were those of the other commiphoras - however, livestock appreciate them, in particular browsing goats. Medicinally, as with the other commiphoras, the importance of the species lay in the remedies prepared from the resiniferous wood. A trunk or thick branch was cut right through to the heartwood [J: ayziz, 'bone'] and then ... the wood closest to the heartwood, of a dark red-brown colour, was pared off in fine shavings [J: nahf] which were sun-dried and pulverised and stored for future use. This powder is called J: temdit, a name given to similar preparations made from the other commiphoras, the most prized being that made from Commiphora gileadensis, or, in the eastern area in particular, from the frankincense tree (though the latter was cut with great care so as not to affect the resin-bearing potentiality of this economically important tree). In this powdered state the medicament keeps indefinitely. When it was needed, it was mixed with salt and water and used in the treatment of many conditions as an antibacterial, an astringent and as an antiseptic. It was packed into a suppurating and putrid wound to draw out the pus and disinfect the wound. It was made up into a poultice and applied to the painful swellings of mastitis, or to other soft swellings. Another preparation made from the wood was prepared by charring pieces cut from the sapwood or alburnum, drying them and then crushing and grinding them into a powder. This material, called in Jibbali nefgot, was also used to treat infected sores, weeping skin lesions and bad burns as well as more severe conditions, such as gangrene. The dried inner and outer barks together were pulverised and mixed to a paste with water and used to wash the hair and cleanse the scalp for its apparently antiparasitic and antipruritic effect. The temdit preparation was also used to make a tisane occasionally with added sweetener such as honey or block sugar. This drink was considered to be purifying to the blood and to act as general tonic. This 'tea' was a dark red colour, and drunk in any great quantity gave the mouth, tongue and lips a similar reddish tinge. Leaves plucked from the tree and dried also made a scented tisane, or were added to tea made from imported tea-leaves. This commiphora was also used in various ways as a dyeing medium. A paste made up from the powdered inner, red wood was used to dye the hanks of imported cotton yarn from which fishing nets and lines were formerly made, or alternatively, to dye the finished articles. Slices cut from the barks, both inner and outer, were also used fresh: they were ground to a pulp then simmered steadily with a little added water over a low fire until the required depth of colour was obtained. The articles to be dyed (usually cotton) were then lowered in, weighted down, and left until they had reached the desired shade. In a specimen which had grown to a good size, the preparation made from the underbark [J: temdit] was of a much darker colour, and consequently quantities of it were added to the tanning medium to produce a deeper, richer red. New growth tips or ground down shavings of the inner wood were also made up into a paste with water and - if available - a little oil, which was used to rub and massage a milk or water skin that had grown foul-smelling, or to lubricate leather that had become dried out and unmalleable. The paste was put inside the bag which was then rubbed back and forth with great vigour on an area of flat rock [J: sarfait] - as in the tanning process, but for a much shorter length of time. Dried out and washed free of any powder that remained, the leather was made one more sweet smelling and supple, and the dark red colour of the better leather brightened and restored. Charcoal made from the wood of this tree was considered the best charcoal for cleaning the teeth. A piece was chewed until reduced to a coarse powder and then the teeth and gums were rubbed vigorously until smooth and clean. Pieces of such charcoal were put aside for this purpose, or in areas where the wood of the tree is commonly used as firewood, a piece would be picked out of last night's fire early in the morning and the teeth cleaned while going about the tasks of the new day. As dead wood, the wood of this tree was considered to be superior in strength - for firewood and building purposes - to the other commiphoras; but as live wood was seen as inferior, being brittle and unresilient. Camels coming for the first time to an area where these trees proliferate and browsing heavily on the foliage or fruit are said to suffer some damage - temporary only - to their sight, but livestock raised in the area browse the trees regularily without harm. It is said too that goats which crop large quantities of the fruit sometimes suffers an allergic reaction with rnning nose and watering eyes. Foliage from this commiphora was gathered to feed young kids who were still spending the major part of the day enclosed in the small, circular pens. Soft leafy branches of this and Cordia spp. and Premna resinosa - all thornless (which was why the otherwise highly valued Acacia tortilis was not used in this way) - were collected and balanced on the top of the walls of the pen [J: hor] and weighted down with a rock. This served the double purpose of teaching the young goats how they would feed once older and fending for themselves and also prevented the fodder from falling and being trampled on the floor. The resin [J: emlox] exuded by the tree is inedible and has no medicinal properties, but like other resins and some kinds of latex, was used as an adhesive and as a depilatory. This was a not unimportant attribute, since the removal of body hair was incumbent on both sexes, and whereas traditionally men were permitted to use mechanical means (such as a razor blade) to achieve this, women have always plucked out such hair by hand - a laborious and painful procedure which would have been even more so in the absence of such locally available resins and gums. Unlike C. gileadensis and C. habessinica, C. foliacea can not be cut and transplanted successfully, so its value as construction material for pens and shelters was less". (Ref. Plants of Dhofar). In addition, Ghazanfar (2007) mentioned that: "The twigs when broken give a sweet smell. The fruits are sweet and edible and the wood (dried and powdered) has been used in traditional medicine as an antiseptic for weeping and suppurating wounds. The heartwood has been used for dyeing cotton". (Ref. Flora of Oman, vol.2).

*Ghazanfar, S. (2007). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman, vol.2: Crassulaceae – Apiaceae. Meise, National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Scripta Botanica Begica, Vol. 36). ISBN 9789072619747 ISSN 0779-2387. *https://en.wikipedia.org *http://www.bihrmann.com *Miller, A., Morris, M. (1988). Plants of Dhofar, the Southern Region of Oman: Traditional, Economic, and Medicinal Uses. Published by Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, Sultanate of Oman; ISBN 10: 0715708082 ISSN 13: 9780715708088. *POWO (2023). ""Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org