Commiphora

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Commiphora
Commiphora caudata leaves.jpg
Commiphora caudata
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Burseraceae
Genus: Commiphora
Jacq. (1797)
Species

ca. 190. See text.

Synonyms [1]
  • BalessamBruce (1790)
  • BalsameaGled. (1782)
  • BalsamodendrumKunth (1824)
  • BalsamophloeosO.Berg (1862)
  • BalsamusStackh. (1814)
  • BdellionBaill. ex Laness. (1886), not validly publ.
  • HemprichiaEhrenb. (1829)
  • HeudelotiaA.Rich. (1831)
  • HitzeraKlotzsch (1861)
  • NeomangenotiaJ.-F.Leroy (1976)
  • NiotouttAdans. (1759)
  • ProtionopsisBlume (1850)
  • SpondiopsisEngl. (1895)
Commiphora saxicola - MHNT Commiphora saxicola arbuste MHNT.jpg
Commiphora saxicola - MHNT

The genus of the myrrhs, Commiphora, is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the (sub-) tropical regions of Africa, the western Indian Ocean islands, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and South America. [2] [3] [1] The genus is drought-tolerant and common throughout the xerophytic scrub, seasonally dry tropical forests, and woodlands of these regions.

Contents

The common name myrrh refers to several species of the genus, from which aromatic resins are derived for various fragrance and medicinal uses by humans.

Description

Leaves in Commiphora are pinnately compound (or very rarely unifoliolate). Many species are armed with spines. Bark is often exfoliating, peeling in thin sheets to reveal colorful, sometimes photosynthetic, bark below. Stems are frequently succulent, especially in species native to drier environments. Flowers are typically dioecious (subdioecious) and fruits are drupes, usually with a 2-locular ovary (one is abortive). [4] In response to wounding, the stems of many species will exude aromatic resins.

Ecology and biogeography

Commiphora can serve as a model genus for understanding plant evolution in the drier regions of the Old World tropics, particularly in eastern continental Africa and Madagascar, where diversity in the genus is concentrated. The closely related sister genus to Commiphora, Bursera , has been used as a model genus to study patterns of evolution in the New World seasonally dry tropical forests. [5]

Use by humans

Products from many species of Commiphora have been used for various purposes, sometimes as timber, building material, and natural fencing, but more often valued for the aromatic resins produced by several members of the genus. "Myrrh", the common name for these dried resins, is fragrant and has been used both as fragrance and for medicinal purposes (e.g., Balsam of Mecca, C. gileadensis). [6] Use of myrrh resin is frequent and pronounced throughout historical texts of cultural significance, including the Bible.

Systematics and taxonomy

Recent studies using DNA sequence data have confirmed the monophyly of Commiphora; [3] [7] however, this data suggests that previous classification of the genus into sections does not reflect monophyletic interspecific relationships.

Species

181 species are accepted: [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Canarium</i> Genus of trees

Canarium is a genus of about 120 species of tropical and subtropical trees, in the family Burseraceae. They grow naturally across tropical Africa, south and southeast Asia, Indochina, Malesia, Australia and western Pacific Islands; including from southern Nigeria east to Madagascar, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and India; from Burma, Malaysia and Thailand through the Malay Peninsula and Vietnam to south China, Taiwan and the Philippines; through Borneo, Indonesia, Timor and New Guinea, through to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Palau.

<i>Ochna</i> Genus of flowering plants

Ochna is a genus comprising 79 species of evergreen trees, shrubs and shrublets belonging to the flowering plant family Ochnaceae. These species are native to tropical woodlands of Africa, Madagascar, the Mascarenes and Asia. Species of this genus are usually called ochnas, bird's-eye bushes or Mickey-mouse plants, a name derived from the shape of the drupelet fruit. The name of this genus comes from the Greek word ὄχνη (ókhnē), used by Theocritus and meaning "wild pear", as the leaves are similar in appearance. Some species, including Ochna integerrima and O. serrulata, are cultivated as decorative plants.

<i>Boswellia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Boswellia is a genus of trees in the order Sapindales, known for its fragrant resin. The biblical incense frankincense is an extract from the resin of the tree Boswellia sacra, and is now produced also from B. frereana. Boswellia species are moderate-sized flowering plants, including both trees and shrubs.

<i>Sesamum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Sesamum is a genus of about 20 species in the flowering plant family Pedaliaceae. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with edible seeds. The best-known member of the genus is sesame, Sesamum indicum, the source of sesame seeds. The species are primarily African, with some species occurring in India, Sri Lanka, and China. The origin of S. indicum is uncertain, as it is widely cultivated and naturalized in tropical regions. The genus is closely related to the strictly African genus Ceratotheca and is itself probably African in origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burseraceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Burseraceae are a moderate-sized family of 17-19 genera and about 540 species of woody flowering plants. The actual numbers given in taxonomic sources differ according to taxonomic revision at the time of writing. The Burseraceae are also known as the torchwood family, the frankincense and myrrh family, or simply the incense tree family. The family includes both trees and shrubs; its species are native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Americas.

<i>Indigofera</i> Genus of plants

Indigofera is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

<i>Cleome</i> Genus of flowering plants

Cleome is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cleomaceae, commonly known as spider flowers, spider plants, spider weeds, or bee plants. Previously, it had been placed in the family Capparaceae, until DNA studies found the Cleomaceae genera to be more closely related to the Brassicaceae than the Capparaceae. Cleome and clammyweed can sometimes be confused.

<i>Tephrosia</i> Genus of plants

Tephrosia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It is widespread in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere, where it is found in tropical and warm-temperate regions.

<i>Blepharis</i> Species of plant

Blepharis is a genus of plant in family Acanthaceae. It contains around 128 species found in seasonally dry to arid habitats from Africa through Arabia to Southeast Asia. In section Acanthodium, there are 13–15 species that use the C4 carbon fixation pathway. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that this pathway evolved up to three times independently in the genus over the last five million years.

<i>Zygophyllum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Zygophyllum is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ζυγόν (zygon), meaning "double", and φυλλον (phyllon), meaning "leaf". It refers to the leaves, each of which have two leaflets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opopanax (perfumery)</span>

Opopanax is the commercial name of bisabol or bissabol, the fragrant oleo-gum-resin of Commiphora guidottii. It has been a major export article from Somalia since ancient times, and is called hebbakhade, habaghadi or habak hadi in Somali. It is an important ingredient in perfumery and therefore known as scented myrrh, sweet myrrh, perfumed myrrh or perfumed bdellium.

<i>Tetraena</i> Genus of flowering plants

Tetraena is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae.

<i>Basananthe</i> Genus of flowering plants

Basananthe is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Passifloraceae.

Ambilobea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Burseraceae. It is a dioecious tree or shrub, up about 20 m tall. Leaves are alternate, odd-pinnate. Inflorescences are axillary and flowers are inconspicuous.

<i>Commiphora guidottii</i> Species of shrub

Commiphora guidottii, commonly known as scented myrrh or bisabol, is a tree or shrub species that is native to the countries of Somalia and Ethiopia. Essential oil from its oleo-gum-resin has been researched for its use in topical treatment of wounds.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Commiphora Jacq. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  2. Daly et al. 2011. Burseraceae. Families and genera of vascular plants. 10:76–104.
  3. 1 2 Weeks, A. and Simpson, B.B. 2007. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Commiphora (Burseraceae) yields insight on the evolution and historical biogeography of an “impossible” genus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 42:62–79.
  4. Gillett, J.B. 1991. Burseraceae. In: Polhill, R.M. (Ed.), Flora of Tropical East Africa. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam. Pp. 1–95.
  5. De Nova, A. et al. 2011. Insights into the historical construction of species-rich Mesoamerican seasonally dry tropical forests: the diversification of Bursera (Burseraceae, Sapindales). New Phytologist. 193(1):276–287.
  6. Musselman, L.J. 2007. Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh: Plants of the Bible and the Quran. Timber Press, Inc. Portland, Oregon. Pp. 194–197.
  7. Weeks, A., et al. 2005. The phylogenetic history and biogeography of the frankincense and myrrh family (Burseraceae) based on nuclear and chloroplast sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 35:85–101.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Species in GRIN for genus". www.ars-grin.gov. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  9. Moorcroft, Koos; Gunduza, Raphael, Traditional skills of the Bushmen - Part 1: BUSHMAN WEAPONS, archived from the original on 2011-02-27, retrieved 2009-12-05
  10. 1 2 Thulin, Mats; Claeson, Per (1991). "The Botanical Origin of Scented Myrrh (Bissabol or Habak Hadi)". Economic Botany. 45 (4): 487–494. doi:10.1007/BF02930711. ISSN   0013-0001. JSTOR   4255391. S2CID   22229398.
  11. "Commiphora leptophloeos (Mart.) J.B.Gillett | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  12. TRANS-MAD Development Parc National de Kirindy-Mite
  13. Hoffmann, Luise (1 June 2017). "The Rock-corkwood (Commiphora saxicola)". The Namibian . Meet the trees of Namibia. p. 9.
  14. "Commiphora simplicifolia in A Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  15. "Tropicos.org" . Retrieved June 6, 2014.