Myrrh is a shrub or small tree that is usually less than 13 feet (4 meters) tall.¹ It has a short trunk and knotted branches covered in spines.¹ The outer bark is generally a silver or gray tone and may be peeling away from its green under-bark.¹ Cuts in the bark exude a hard yellow-toned oleo-gum-resin.¹ Yellow-red flowers usually appear before the leaves and are 3 to 4 mm long, with two to four in a cymose inflorescence.¹ Its widely variable trifoliate leaves have a terminal leaflet with two smaller lateral leaflets, which have an entire to six-toothed margin.^1,5,6 Myrrh has one to two flattened beaked drupe fruits on jointed stalks.^1,5,7

Myrrh is native to Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Oman.¹ In the earliest history of trade, the herb was an “offering of value,” as it is often mentioned in the Bible.⁸ The first recorded effort of domestication of Myrrh occurred in 1495 when Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt sent an expedition to Somalia to bring back trees that produced fragrant resin.¹ It is said that 31 trees were brought back in wicker baskets slung on poles, then planted in the Garden of Thebes.¹

The name Myrrh denotes “bitter” and is most likely of Arabic origin.⁸ The herb was one used in combination for embalming of Egyptian nobles and pharaohs.⁷

Myrrh is also used in Kyphi, a sweet, spicy and resinous incense that has been used since ancient Greece.⁴ The ingredients include raisins, wine, honey, mineral pitch, Myrrh, Lemongrass, Sweet Flag, Cyperus tuber, Saffron, Spikenard, Rosewood, Cardamom, and Cinnamon.⁴

The plant is valued in the landscape for its ability to prevent soil erosion caused by wind, and is often found flourishing in shallow soil, most often over limestone deposits.¹ Myrrh is commonly found in bushland habitats among native flora and fauna and in desert scrubland thickets.^1,6 In the forests on the shores of the Red Sea, the shrub was known to create an undergrowth.⁸ It prefers full sun, high temperatures, dry to moist soil, and is drought tolerant.⁶

The Myrrh oleo-gum-resin naturally oozes from the tree and hardens on the bark in sizes ranging from a pea to a large walnut.⁹ The irregular pieces were said to resemble the tree’s “tears,” which is now the commonly referred to plant part description.⁹ To collect the fragrant tears, trees are scored in several places on their main trunk or cut branches.^2,6 These scores in the bark begin to produce a milky resin that hardens into an amber/reddish-brown tear as it begins to dry on the tree.² After about two weeks, the tears are ready for collection and dried.^2,6 If collected properly, this procedure does not harm the tree, and therefore doesn’t threaten the sustainability of Myrrh.² A number of species produce chemically similar oleo-gum-resin and share the same uses in herbalism.