Commiphora gileadensis (L.) C.Chr.
Amyris gileadensis L., A. opobalsamum L., C. opobalsamum (L.) Engl.
Eng.: Balsam of Mecca, balsam of Gilead, myrrha. Spa.: Bálsamo de Gilead, mirra. Fre.: Myrrhe. Ara.: Gafal, mayowak, mayoak.
Tree or small tree, dioecious, 1.5-4 m in height, with long, slender, striated, branches, without spines. Stems with exudate of rubber or resin and bark greyish or reddish peeling off into strips. Leaves alternate, compound, imparipinnate, with 3-5 leaflets arranged on brachyblasts, glabrous or finely pubescent. Leaf petiole 0.5-1.5 cm. Leaflets 0.3-1 × 0.3-0.6 cm, obovate, entire, with rounded or emarginate apex; terminal leaflet usually larger than the rest. Flowers 2-3 mm, grouped in glomeruli, imperfectly unisexual, with 4(5) petals, 8 stamens and bilocular ovary with 2 ovules in each locule and a short style. Stigma subcapitate, with 4 lobes slightly marked. Drupe 0.8-1 × 0.6-0.8 cm, broadly ovoid or ellipsoid, apiculate, smooth, glabrous, with remains of the persistent calyx at the base.
Flowering:
June to September.
Fruiting:
October to January.
Habitat:
Sandy plains and hills of desert and semidesert areas.
Distribution:
Eastern tropical Africa, from the SE of Egypt to Kenya and Somalia; also in the Arabian Peninsula.
Conservation status:
Rare species with a small distribution area. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) it is listed as “Rare”.