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Concept
Myrrh
Summary
Myrrh (mɜːr; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see § Etymology) is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mixed with posca or wine was widely used in many ancient cultures to produce pleasurable feelings and as an analgesic.
When a wound on a tree penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree secretes a resin. Myrrh gum, like frankincense, is such a resin. Myrrh is harvested by repeatedly wounding the trees to bleed the gum, which is waxy and coagulates quickly. After the harvest, the gum becomes hard and glossy. The gum is yellowish and may be either clear or opaque. It darkens deeply as it ages, and white streaks emerge.
Myrrh gum is commonly harvested from the species Commiphora myrrha. Another commonly used name, Commiphora molmol, is now considered a synonym for Commiphora myrrha.
Commiphora myrrha is native to Somalia, Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Somali Region of Ethiopia and parts of Saudi Arabia. Meetiga, a trade name for Arabian myrrh, is more brittle and gummy than the Somali variety and does not have the latter's white markings.
Liquid myrrh, or stacte, which was written about by Pliny, was formerly a greatly valued ingredient of Jewish holy incense, but is no longer commercially available.
The word myrrh corresponds to a common Semitic root m-r-r meaning "bitter", as in Arabic مُرّ murr and Aramaic ܡܪܝܪܐ mureera. Its name entered the English language by way of the Hebrew Bible, in which it is called מור mor, and also later as a Semitic loanword. It appears in numerous pre-Hellenic sources up to the translation of the Tanakh into the Septuagint, and later makes it way into the Greek myth about Myrrha; in the Ancient Greek language, the related word μῠ́ρον (múron), likely derived from a Semitic source, became a general term for perfume.
In pharmacology, myrrh has been used as an antiseptic in mouthwashes, gargles, and toothpastes.
Official source
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