Frankincense and myrrh are perhaps best known
for their biblical connotations.
But this tree sap has been prized
across the world for over 6,000 years.
These fragrant incense pieces
come from the Burseraceae family of trees
and are found across the Horn of Africa
and the Arabian Peninsula.
But despite recent attempts to protect these trees,
they could soon be headed for extinction.
So, what makes frankincense and myrrh so expensive?
There are roughly 550 species of Burseraceae,
a collection of trees often referred to
as the incense tree family,
recognizable for their flaking aromatic bark
and fragrant sap.
But true frankincense comes from
only a small fraction of those species.
Narrator: Frankincense is a milky white resin
derived from Boswellia trees,
which are remarkable for their ability
to grow in unforgiving conditions.
In fact, these trees have been known
to grow out of solid rock.
Myrrh, on the other hand,
is a reddish resin extracted from Commiphora trees.
The process of extracting sap
from Boswellia and Commiphora trees is virtually identical.
Incisions, or taps, are made in the bark of the tree,
which create injury.
The trees produce a gummy resin, like a scab,
as a protection against the injury.
The resin then hardens into teardrop pieces.
More incisions are made at important intervals
to continue the production of resin exudates.
Narrator: The resin granules collected from the trees
must be separated into different grades.
First grade-A frankincense
is clear, white, and without impurities.
Smaller pieces of the same high-quality granules
are separated within a sieve
and classified as first grade-B frankincense.
The grades gradually deteriorate
based on the size and the amount of impurities,
such as bark infused into the resin.
Low-quality frankincense is mainly
sold for local market consumption,
whereas grades one, two, three, and four are exported.
Narrator: That means that at wholesale,
this sack of first grade-A Ethiopian frankincense
is worth about $430.
Frankincense and myrrh have been burnt
as incense for thousands of years,
and both are deeply ingrained
in religious ceremonial burnings.
In fact, it's estimated that the Roman Catholic Church alone
still uses an estimated 50 metric tons
of frankincense a year.
Frankincense and myrrh were some of the most
highly prized commodities in ancient civilizations
and became the driving force behind
the creation of the incense trade routes,
a vast network of major land and sea passageways
dating back to 300 BC that linked
the Mediterranean to luxury goods from the south.
At the height of their use,
these routes allowed the transport of approximately
3,000 tons of incense every year, hauled by camels.
Today, alongside its medicinal and cosmetic uses,
frankincense has found a surge
in popularity as an essential oil,
which in its purest form can be sold
for as much as $6,000 per liter.
Frankincense essential oil alone
generated more than $190 million in 2018,
and that's expected to exceed $406 million by 2028.
But with so much money to be made from damaging a tree,
the tapping process, which should happen only
two or three times a year,
is under threat not only
from environmental dangers such as wildfires,
but also from local untrained tappers.
It can sometimes take decades
for these trees to start producing resin,
so the sustainability of the species
relies on injuring the tree without killing it.
Kindeya Gebrehiwot: Unfortunately, the harvesting process
of frankincense is very damaging to the tree.
So, every time people go there and make wounds
and then collect the sap,
that doesn't give enough time to rest
for the tree and heal itself.
So, one of our findings
is this tree is really under a threat.
Narrator: The International Union
for Conservation of Nature
categorized the Boswellia sacra species
as near threatened over 20 years ago,
and the lack of overharvesting laws in some countries
means that protecting Boswellia trees
in such remote areas is virtually impossible.
Experts who surveyed aging Boswellia papyrifera trees
in North Africa suggested that most hadn't
produced a young tree in half a century.