We Found Frankincense!

I attempted to take the kids to the Natural History Museum but unbeknownst to Google and myself, it closes at 1pm. They generously suggested we tour the gardens instead. Gardens might be a little generous for what they have there but still, we want to learn all we can about where we live so we looked at what they had. It occurred to me that the MIGHT have a Frankincense tree because Oman is the land of Frankincense. The Frankincense Trail began in Oman. Sure enough they had a couple in this garden! This find was so exciting to me, I considered the museum fail a big win!

"The finest and most highly prized frankincense resin is produced by the Boswellia sacra species, which grows in Oman. Oman has a reputation for producing superior-quality frankincense trees that deliver the highest-grade resin, the resin reserved for royalty."

A quote about Omani Frankincense by Young Living Essential Oil company. Here's a beautifully worded quote about Omani Frankincense from another Aromatics website, Enfleurage.

"But the most refined, the most beautiful and some would say the holiest, frankincense is from Dhofar, Oman's southernmost governate. Boswellia sacra is delicious, delightful and sublime in the extreme. The smoke from the resin is perfect for scenting one's home, one's clothes; and to repel both insects and djinn. The green resin is soaked overnight in water and the water then drunk, for all kinds of upset stomaches. 

In Southern Oman, frankincense trees are seen as the Mother of society, and the "umbrella of our lives," caring for her children with the very blood in her veins. This is the traditional home of frankincense, the place where Herodotus' flying snakes protected the sacred groves. This part of Oman was the treasure chest from which camels and their traders crossed the Empty Quarter towards Europe along the Incense Trail. 

Oman is one of only two Sultanates in the world (the other is Brunei)--it’s a stable, calm country with a long magnificent coastline on the Indian ocean. Oman sits just south of the United Arab Emirates (UAE,) east of Saudi Arabia and northeast of Yemen."

So we couldn't smell the aroma from the tree or leaves, only the sap. But that was so strong. I happen to love the smell of Frankincense so I harvested a tiny tear to put in my car incase it would permeate. So far, no luck.