Plant Encyclopedia
Commiphora myrrha (common myrrh)
Japanese name: ミルラ
Scientific name: Commiphora myrrha
[Overview]
An evergreen shrub about 3 m tall, growing wild in dry highlands.
The trunk is fleshy and has many sharp thorns.
The leaves are alternate, simple to trifoliate.
The flowers are small and borne in panicles.
[Uses]
It is one of the source plants of myrrh, and resin is collected from the wounded bark.
It is used as a fragrance, and is also dissolved in oils and fats to make scented oil.
It also has an astringent action, and was used as a fragrant medicine and preservative in making mummies in ancient Egypt.
Details
Names
English: common myrrh
Japanese: ミルラ、モツヤクジュ（没薬樹）、モツヤクノキ、ミルラノキ
Japanese: ミルラ、モツヤクジュ（没薬樹）、モツヤクノキ、ミルラノキ
Life form
Shrub
Evergreen / deciduous
Evergreen
Leaf type
Broadleaf
Habit
Terrestrial
Distribution or origin
Arabian Peninsula to Ethiopia; Somalia
Growth form
Upright
Height
3000 mm
Leaf shape
Simple leaf, Trifoliate compound leaf
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf margin
Entire
Inflorescence
Panicle
Leaf color
Green
Availability of seeds and plants
High
Form sold
Seedlings
Soil needs
Required
Scent
Resinous
Uses
Essential oil
Japanese culture
Used in mummy making
Translated from our Japanese encyclopedia. If anything differs, the Japanese page is correct.