Gifts for the Magi

Few holidays, Christian or other, have more symbols involving plant life than Christmas.

The three wise men, as recorded in Matthew 2:11, presented gifts to the baby Jesus of gold and frankincense, and myrrh. This story was set to music in 1857 by John H. Hopkins in "We Three Kings of Orient Are."

Did you ever wonder exactly what a gift of myrrh and frankincense would look like?

Myrrh is a small, spiny shrub or trees of knotted branches and native to Yemen, Somalia, eastern Ethiopia, Jordan, and India (the Indian plant is considered inferior.)

A member of the "Burseracae" plant family, the brown-red clumps of resin are naturally found in the cracks of the tree. High quality myrrh resin is dark and clear. The scent of raw myrrh resin and oil is sharp, pleasant and somewhat bitter. Unlike other resins, myrrh expands and blooms when burned instead of melting or liquefying.

Uses are as scent in incense, wine, perfume, toiletries and often used when performing church sacraments. Up to the 15th century, it was used by Jews as an embalming ointment. It has been documented as far back as 3,000 BC. As in ancient times, myrrh is still used as an antiseptic.

In the Roman and Greek mythical story, "Ovid's Metamorphoses", Myrrh was the mother of Adonis and she was the origin of the tree.

During biblical times, myrrh "Commiphora myrrha" was literately worth its weight in gold and five times more valuable than Frankincense. The use and symbolism of myrrh is written about in both the old and new testaments of the Bible. It is currently used in Chinese and Saudi Arabia for medicine.

Frankincense "Boswellia carteri" was also considered more valuable than gold. It typically grows in the same regions and has biblical references. As with all herbals, it was a valuable commodity on the ancient trading circuits. It was a known fragrance for mourning the dead.

From the same botanical family as Myrrh, Oman, Yemen and Somalia produce internationally traded frankincense and myrrh.

The aloe gum resin of frankincense is obtained from a small tree/shrub with pink or white flowers. It burns a white fragrant smoke and was used to carry prayers to heaven.

Farming Frankincense has similarities to maple syrup harvesting. The difference is this product use does not go into foodstuff but into medicines and fragrances. Growing either shrub/tree outside its native areas has not been very successful. If you want either, you will need to contact an import spice retailer.

Gourmet incense & essential oil retailers, spice stores, and homeopathic solutions outlets are all available to the shopper. Unlike gold, it is considerably cheaper if you want to purchase for the gardener who has simply everything. One source listed a one pound bag of a mixture of frankincense and myrrh incense resin for about $18. As of 11-30-09, an ounce of gold was selling at $1,175 an ounce. As with all natural resources, the "value" is determined by the desire to own.

As you hear those old familiar Christmas carols or smell the fragrance of myrrh or frankincense during religious ceremonies, you can now identify two more plants that have become so important they are the subject of religious law, scriptural stories, ancient myths, and herbal remedies.

"Frankincense to offer have I, Incense owns a Deity nigh. . . Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom . . ."

-"We Three Kings of Orient Are" by John H. Hopkins