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Commiphora myrrha
Burseraceae FAMILY

Commiphora myrrha

Commiphora myrrha

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
4/5

Safety & Hazards

This herb is contraindicated during pregnancy because of its emmenagogic activity. It is advisable to dilute myrrh before use and administer moderate doses. Allergic reactions have been observed[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
Growth—

A plant for the drier tropics and subtropics, where it can be found at elevations from 250 - 1,300 metres[2, 1]. Plants prefer a minimum temperature that does not fall below about 10°c[2]. It grows wild in areas where the mean annual rainfall is within the range 230 - 300mm[1]. Requires a well-drained soil and a position in full sun[2]. Prefers shallow soils and is chiefly found over limestone[1].

Propagation

Seed - Hardwood cuttings at the end of the growing season[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Commiphora+myrrha>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  3. [3]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎