Myrrh oil is extracted from Commiphora myrrha (also known as Commiphora molmol and Balsamodendron myrrha) of the Burseraceae family and is also known as bola, myrrha, gum, common and hirabol myrrh.
Myrrh oil has a warm, slightly musty smell and is pale yellow to amber in color.
Origin of myrrh oil
It is a small tree that can grow up to 5 meters (16 feet) high with light bark and knotted branches, few leaves and small white flowers. It is native to Somalia, Arabia and Yemen.
When the bark is cut, the gum resin exudes as a pale yellow liquid, which dries into reddish-brown lumps the size of a walnut from which the oil is distilled.
Myrrh was very popular in the ancient world and was used as a medicine by the Chinese and Egyptians, and as part of the Egyptian sun-worshipping ritual and mummification. It was used in cosmetics, while Greek soldiers took a phial of Myrrh oil with them into battle, to stop bleeding wounds.
