166 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[August 27,1870. 
“ Coming from the north-east, we first meet with the 
frankincense-tree on the Sabhan mountains in latitude 
17° 30' N. and longitude 65° 23' E., where the desert 
ends, and the wooded mountainous region commences; 
and, following the coast, which runs south-west, we find 
the frankincense exported from the different towns gra¬ 
dually diminishes after the Bay of A1 Kammar until we 
arrive at Makalla, from whence none is exported from 
the interior of Arabia, and but little used, except what 
is brought from the African coast opposite that town. 
By the same inquiry we learn that the produce of the 
Arabian trees is exported in large quantities from places 
on that part of the coast which intervenes between the 
latitude and longitude mentioned (viz. 17° 30' N. and 
55° 23' E.) and the town of Damkote in the Bay of A1 
Kammar, 62° 47' E. longitude. Between these two 
points the trees are congregated in two distinct localities 
—on the summits and sides of the highest range of moun¬ 
tains near the coast, and on the plain between them and 
the sea; the former is called Nedjee, or highland, and 
the latter Sahil, or plains on the coast. The Nedjee is 
about two days’ journey from the shore; it is the most 
elevated portion of the great limestone formation of this 
coast, which, from a height of 5000 feet here, descends 
in sudden and lofty steps upon the Arabian Sea. To 
get to it you first cross the Sahil already mentioned, 
and then ascend a minor range, which is covered, with 
long grass and trees, and, after passing a less fertile 
region, called the Gathan, at last arrive at the Nedjee, 
where there is no grass and but few trees beside those 
which produce the frankincense. The soil is red and 
subargillaceous, and, in consequence of its scarcity, the 
trees are generally found growing out of the crevices of 
the limestone rock. It is from this part that the frank¬ 
incense is chiefly brought, and, as I have before said, 
the largest quantities of it are exported from the different 
towns on the coast between the longitudes 50° 47' and 
55° 23' E. 
“ The libanophorous region, therefore, lies behind the 
towns on this part of the coast where Theophrastus 
places it, and not, as Ptolemy places it, in Oman.” 
Mr. Carter also procured dried and living specimens 
of the tree, and made careful drawings of them. In 
1859, when Dr. Birdwood took charge of the Agri-Hor- 
ticultural Society’s “Old Gardens” at Bombay, he found 
Carter’s plant still living. Through the kind exertions 
of Colonel Playfair, then at Aden, he obtained a fine 
collection of several varieties of dried specimens and 
cuttings of the African frankincense-tree, together with 
the frankincense yielded by them. Both Carter’s and 
Playfair’s plants have since flowered, and thus allowed 
of their being named. 
Dr. Birdwood, in his “conclusions,” says:— 
“ It will, I believe, be now agreed that Arabia pro¬ 
duces frankincense, and in the very region indicated by 
common opinion of the ancient world, and so accurately 
limited by Theophrastus. Now that it has been demon¬ 
strated by Carter that the libanotophorous region lies 
along the coast of Hadramaut, the agreement between 
the statements of the Bible, Herodotus, Theophrastus, 
Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Pliny, Arrian, Ptolemy, the 
Arabs, Marco Polo, Bochart and Celsus is very strik¬ 
ing. It will, I believe, be agreed also, as implied in the 
more ancient references to Arabia, and expressly as¬ 
serted by Diodorus, Strabo, Arrian, and others of the 
ancients, and demonstrated with such fulness by Crut¬ 
tenden, Kempthome and Vaughan, and the overwhelm¬ 
ing evidence of modem travellers (beginning with 
Bruce) generally, that the Soumali country also pro¬ 
duces frankincense and probably the bulk of the oliba- 
num of commerce. The agreement as to the region about 
Mount Elephant (Ras Fieluk, Cape Felix, Jibbel Feel) 
between Arrian, Captain Doventon and Captain Saris, 
in Purchas, Milbum, Cruttenden, Kempthome and 
Vaughan is indeed quite startling. 
“ It will be admitted also, I believe, that Boswellia 
Carterii {Mohr Madow ), which—with B. Bhau-JDajiana 
(Mohr Add), the source of the bulk of the olibanum of 
commerce exported from the Soumali country—is the 
same species as the plant [Mag hr ay t d'sheehaz) which 
Carter found produced the frankincense of the Hadra¬ 
maut, and also that Bostvellia thurifera (including B. 
glabra ) of India and B. papyrifera of Abyssinia, although 
thuriferous species, are not known to yield any of the 
olibanum of commerce. 
“It is very surprising that so great weight of evi¬ 
dence in favour of frankincense being produced in 
Arabia Felix and the Soumali country should ever 
have been set aside for the idle fancy that India was 
the source of the olibanum of commerce.” 
Dr. Birdwood rightly attributes at least a portion of 
this mistake to a most prolific source of error, namely* 
the alteration which has taken place in the trade-routes. 
In the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867, Dr. Bird- 
wood noticed several bottles of frankincense labelled. 
“ Olibanum, so called because it comes from Mount Le¬ 
banon also aconite labelled “ Aconitum Nepaullus, so 
named because its root is the famous poison of Nepaul” l 
Dr. Birdwood then gives descriptions of the genus 
Bostvellia and the species belonging to it, as enumerated 
below, with the synonyms of each species. 
Genus Boswellia. 
Roxburgh, PI. Corom. iii. p. 4. t. 207; Benth. and Hook. 
Gen. Plant, i. p. 322. 
Zibanus, Colebrooke in Asiat. Res. ix. p. 377. t. 5. 
f. 1. 
Bl'osslea , Endlicher, Nov. Stirp. Dec. 47 ; Iconog. 
t. 119, 120. 
Species 5. natives of Nubia, Abyssinia, Berbera, Arabia, 
and India. 
1. Boswellia Carterii, Birdwood, n. sp. (with figures). 
B. thurifera , Colebrooke? Carter in Journ. Bom¬ 
bay Br. Roy. As. Soc. ii. 1847. 
“ Mohr Madow,” Playfair. 
“Maghrayt d’sheehaz,” Carter. 
Habitat. Soumali mountains, Africa; Hadramaut 
Mountains, Arabia. 
The “mohr madow” and “maghrayt d’sheehaz” are- 
two varieties, figures of both are given. 
2. B. Bhau-Dajiana, Birdwood, n. sp. (with figure). 
“Mohr Add,” Playfair (Soumali mountains). 
Habitat. Soumali mountains. 
These two species yield the bulk of the olibanum ex¬ 
ported from the Soumali country under the name of 
“ Laban-Sheheri.” 
3. B. papyrifera, Richard, Tent. Flor. Abyss, etc. iv. 
p. 140. t. 33. 
Amyris papyrifera, Delile, Cent. PI. d’Afrique; 
Caillaud, Voyage a Meroe, ii. p. 293. 
Flosslea floribunda , Endl. Nov. Stirp. etc., n. 47. 
t. 119, 120. 
“ Angouah,” Bruce’s Travels, vii. p. 334. tab. 48. 
Habitat. Senaar, Soudan, Gondar, and the valley 
between the Taccaze and Mareb. 
4. B. thurifera, Colebrooke, Asiat. Res. ix. p. 377. t. 5. 
B. serrata and B. glabra, Roxb. Flor. Ind. ii. pp. 
383, 384. 
B. glabra, Roxb. Cor. PI. ii. t. 207. 
“ Salai,” India (Birdwood). 
Habitat. In the mountains of Tropical India; Oude 
and Rohilkund, Boyle ; Behar, Hooker; Concan, 
Stocks ; Kattyawar, Khandeish, H. M. Birdwood. 
There are two varieties of this plant and its gum-resins 
recognized by the natives of India, of which Roxburgh 
made two species. 
5. B. Frereana, Birdwood, n. sp. (with figure). 
“ Yegaar,” Playfair. 
“ Louban maitee ” of the Soumalis. 
“ Louban meyti,” Cruttenden. 
Habitat. In the white limestone mountains about 
Bundah Murayha. 
We are highly grateful to Dr. Birdwood for this very’ 
interesting and valuable paper, which must have cost 
him immense labour and painstaking research. It is, 
