BUESEEACE^. 475 



Order 62. — Bueseeace^,' the Myrrh and Frankincense Family. 

 (Polypet. Perigyn.) Flowers usually bisexual, sometimes unisexual by 

 abortion. Calyx persistent, regular or nearly so, with 2 to 5 divisions. 

 Petals 3-5, inserted at the base of the calyx ; aestivation valvate or 

 imbricated. Stamens twice or four times as many as the petals, peri- 

 gynous. Disk covering the base of the calyx often in a ring-like man- 

 ner. Ovary superior, sessile, 1-5 celled ; ovules in pairs, anatropal, 

 pendulous or suspended ; gtyle 1 or none ; stigma simple or lobed, 

 sometimes capitate. Fruit dry, 1-5-celled, indehiscent, or its epicarp 

 splitting into valves. Seeds solitary, exalbuminous, with a superior 

 radicle next the hilum, and cotyledons, which are fleshy or wrinkled. 

 — Trees or shrubs, abounding in resin, with opposite or alternate 

 compound leaves, which are frequently stipulate and dotted. They are 

 natives of tropical regions. There are two tribes : — 1. Burserese, with 

 a 2-5-celled ovary ; 2. Amyridese, with an xmilocular ovary. Some 

 look upon the stamens of Amyridese as truly hypogynous, and consider 

 the order as allied to Aurantiaeese. Authors give 26 genera and 56 

 species. Examples — Amyris, BosweUia, Bursera, Balsamodendron. 



The plants yield a fragrant balsamic and resinous juice, which, 

 in a dry state, is often used as frankincense, and is employed medi- 

 cinally as a stimulant or expectorant. The resin called Elemi is 

 supposed to be produced by species of Ganarium (C. commune and 

 balsamiferum. The resin contains a stimulant volatile oU. Olibanum 

 (Frankincense), the njD^ (Lebonah) of the Scriptures, is procured from 

 the stem of several species of BosweUia which inhabit the hot and 

 arid regions of eastern Africa near Cape Gardafui, and of the southern 

 coast of Arabia. Among these may be mentioned BosweUia Carterii 

 of Birdwood, including several varieties, B. BhaiirDajiana of Birdwood, 

 and B. Frereana. The two latter are natives of the Somali country. 

 The last mentioned yields a resin called Lubin Matti, which Hanbury 

 considers to be the substance originally known as Elemi. The quan- 

 tity of olibanum exported from Bombay in 1872-73 was 25,100 cwt. 

 It is used for incense in the Eoman Catholic and Greek churches. Bos- 

 weUia thurifera, the Salai tree of India, produces an odoriferous resin. 

 It contains a volatile oil, and has been used as a stimulant, and as a 

 material for fumigation. Balsamodendron (Protium ?) Myrrha, a shrub 

 growing in Abyssinia, appears to be the source of the ofi5cinal myrrh, 

 the liD (mor) of the Bible. It is a bitter aromatic gum-resin, con- 

 taining volatile oil, and was used in ancient times as frankincense. It 

 is a heating stimulant, and is employed mediciually as an emmenagogue 

 and diaphoretic, as well as for arresting various mucous discharges. 

 The resin called Bdellium is procured from various species of Balsamo- 

 dendron, as B. afrioanum and Roxbwghii. The bdellium of Scripture 

 (nisia) is not known. The. celebrated balsam called Balm of Gilead, nv 

 (tzori) is an exudation from Balsamodendron c/ileadense. Tacamahac 



