Boswellia serrata
Boswellia serrata
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of the semi-arid to moist tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,150 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 33 - 42°c, but can tolerate 7 - 47°c[1]. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of -2°c or lower, but new growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 500 - 2,000mm[1]. Requires a sunny position[1]. It grows well on neutral soils above gneiss, schist, quartzite, limestone and sandstone, and has the ability to thrive in the poorest and the shallowest of soils where most of its associates remain stunted[2, 1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7.4[1]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[1]. The tree produces root suckers and responds well to both coppicing and pollarding[2]. Plants are resistant to damage from fires[2, 1]. A mature tree yields about 1 - 1.5 kilos of gum a year[2].
Propagation
Seed - it has a short viability and is best sown as soon as it is ripe. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Boswellia+serrata>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
- [3]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
- [4]Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants — Kapoor. L. D. · CRC Press, Florida. · 2001 · ISBN 0-8493-2929-9 ↩︎A very detailed book on some of the key Ayurvedic herbs, giving both technical and non-technical information on each plant. The whole is very well referenced.
- [5]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.