Common name: Indian frankincense

Originating in India, the Indian Frankincense or Boswellia tree is the source of a valuable resin of increasing interest to producers and consumers of natural products. 

It is a small tree, typically 10 to 15 m (30 to 50 ft) tall, and develops a short, stocky and often crooked trunk supporting a wide-spreading, moderately branched crown. The bark is grey-green and peels off in thin papery flakes.

The leaves are large and feathery, up to 45 cm (18 in) long and made up of up to thirty dull green lance-shaped leaflets arranged in pairs along the length and with an extra leaflet at the tip. In the dry season, they fall off the tree to conserve water, leaving the branches bare and exposed. 

The dry season is also when the tree comes into bloom, with small white or faintly pink flowers held in stout clusters arising at the ends of the branches. They are soon followed by three-sided, brown seed capsules containing a single winged seed designed for wind dispersal.

Use

The stems yield an oleoresin, a soft essential oil and resin mixture tapped from incisions made in the bark. After it has hardened, the exude is collected and sold as a fragrance component for use in perfumes and as a flavouring for food and pharmaceutical products. Commonly traded as 'Indian Frankincense', it is not as highly regarded as Arabian Frankincense, which comes mostly from the species Boswellia sacra. Nevertheless, it constitutes a part of the trade in frankincense oleoresin, which has become one of the main ingredients in perfumery. It has found use in about 13% of perfumes and 3% of men's fragrances, including 'Beautiful' by Estee Lauder, 'Jazz' by Yves Saint Laurent, 'Amouage' and 'Charles of the Ritz'.

In its native range, Indian Frankincense is used as an ingredient in traditional herbal medicine and for making incense. 

The straight, slender stems are cut for fence-posts or are planted as large cuttings to grow into a living fence. The wood has low natural resistance to decay, which makes it unsuitable for outdoor construction. It is also unsuitable for firewood as it is highly resinous, causing it to burn quickly and produce much smoke.  

Health use

The oleoresin is commonly used in traditional Indian or Ayurvedic medicine, primarily to treat inflammatory diseases.  It is most commonly found as an ingredient in mouthwash and gargle products and products for treating sore throat, laryngitis, gum disease generally, and respiratory diseases such as asthma. Research studies suggest it may also have anti-arthritic properties. 

Climate

In its natural range, it occurs in the dry to sub-humid hilly regions of central India, which span sub-tropical and tropical climate zones. It grows naturally in areas with annual lows of 12 to 21°C, annual highs of 25 to 35°C, annual rainfall of 500 to 1600 mm and a dry season of 6 to 9 months.

Growing

New plants are usually started from cuttings but can also be raised from seed or suckers. Performs well on shallow, stony soils that would not support most other tree species and has a high tolerance to drought conditions. It will probably also grow well on free-draining loam and sand soils of a moderately acid to moderately alkaline nature, generally with a pH of 5.0 to 7.5, and needs full sun exposure for good resin production.

Problem features

There does not appear to be any records of its escape and naturalisation anywhere.

It has a habit of sending up suckers from the roots.

Books

• Asouti, E. & Fuller, D. Q. 2008, Trees and woodlands of South India : archaeological perspective, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California

• Chevallier, A. 2000, Encyclopedia of herbal medicine, 2nd American ed., Dorling Kindersley, New York

• Coppen J.J.W. 1995, Flavours and fragrances of plant origin, Non-wood forest products (Volume 1), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome

• Dastur, J. F. 1964, Useful plants of India and Pakistan : a popular handbook of trees and plants of industrial, economic, and commercial utility, 2nd ed., D. B. Taraporevala Sons, Bombay

• Hocking, D. 1993, Trees for drylands, International Science Publisher, New York

• Howes, F. N. 1949, Vegetable gums and resins, Chronica Botanica Company, Waltham, Massachusetts

• Khan, I. A. & Abourashed, E. A. 2010, Leung's encyclopedia of common natural ingredients : used in food, drugs and cosmetics, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, New Jersey

• Luna, R. K 1996, Plantation trees, International Book Distributors, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

• Martin, F. M., et al. 1987, Perennial edible fruits of the tropics : an inventory, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, D.C.

• Parrotta, J. A. 2001, Healing plants of peninsular India, CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxfordshire

• Prasanna, P.V. 2012, Trees of Hyderabad: A Pictorial Guide, 1st ed., Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Indian Government Ministry of Environment and Forests, Kolkata

• Randall, R. P. 2007, The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status, Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management, Glen Osmond, South Australia

• Scheffer, T. C & Morrell, J. J. 1998, Natural durability of wood : a worldwide checklist of species, Forest Research Laboratory, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

• Thomson, G. 2007, The health benefits of traditional Chinese plant medicines : weighing the scientific evidence, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Barton, Australian Capital Territory

• Troup, R.S. & Joshi, H. B. 1975 to 1981, Silviculture of Indian Trees (3 volumes), Government of India Publications, New Delhi

• Wickens, G. E 1995, Edible nuts, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome

Articles, Journals, Reports and Working Papers

• Singh, K. P. & Kushwaha, C. P. 2006, Diversity of flowering and fruiting phenology of trees in a tropical deciduous forest in India, Oxford University Press

• Somashekhar, B. S. and M. Sharma. 2002. Training manual on propagation techniques of commercially important medicinal plants. Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Bangalore, India.