Burseraceae
- Related Topics:
- torchwood
- Boswellia
- Bursera
- Commiphora
- Protium
Burseraceae, family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales, composed of about 19 genera and 775–860 species of resinous trees and shrubs. They are native primarily to tropical America, but a few species occur in Africa and Asia. Many species dominate the forests or woodlands in which they grow. Burseraceae is also known as the frankincense family, and a number of its species are economically important for their fragrant resins.
Physical description
Members of the family have compound leaves that alternate along the stem and are composed of numerous leaflets. Many species have flaky bark that is grayish to red in colour, and the stems and trunk exude colourless to white resins. The plants bear solitary or clustered flowers and fleshy fruits.
Major genera and species
The largest genus of the family, Commiphora (185 species), is found mostly in the drier areas of northeastern Africa and Madagascar and from Arabia to India. Myrrh is the resin from plants of the genus, especially C. myrrha and C. erythraea. C. opobalsamum furnishes balm of Gilead.
The oleo-gum-resin from several species of the genus Boswellia, called frankincense, was used in biblical times in incense, in medicine, and for embalming.
The most important timber tree of the family is probably gaboon mahogany (Aucoumea klaineana), of West Africa, used for veneers and plywood.
Bursera (110 species) is found in tropical America, with its centre of diversity in Mexico. The gumbo-limbo, or incense tree (B. simaruba), has light reddish brown wood that is used for fishing floats; its fragrant resin is used in incense. It and other members of Bursera are exploited for turpentine or elemi (an oily resin) in tropical America.
Protium (145 species) occurs mostly in wet lowland areas of tropical America but with a few species in Madagascar and Malaysia. In tropical America, copal (P. copal) and several related species are tapped for their resins, which have been used in Central America in incense for religious purposes since pre-Columbian times.
Canarium (120 species) occurs in the forests of the Old World tropics. Indian black dammar tree (C. strictum) and Java almond (C. commune) of Indo-Malaysia, a source of Manila elemi, also produce commercially valuable resins. The seed of the latter, which is cultivated in Australia, is edible, as are those of several other East Asian species, which also may be processed to produce cooking oil. The fruits of C. album are eaten like olives.
The genus Dacryodes (90 species) is found primarily in the Old World tropics. The Mexican genus Beiselia consists of one species, B. mexicana, which is listed as an endangered species.