Boswellia rivae (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007)
| Boswellia rivae (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007) |
Boswellia rivae Burseraceae Indigenous
habit
leaf, fruit
Common names
- English: Incense tree, Black incense
- Amargna: Ye‑Sidamo etan zaf
- Borenagna: Matabut
- Oromugna: Qura
- Somaligna: Murfur‑ad, Mohor‑medu, Murken, Bayemedow
Ecology
In Africa, it is found in Acacia Commiphora - wooded grassland in red sandy to stony soils of Dry Kolla agroclimatic zone of Sidamo, Bale and Harerge, 250–800 m. It is also found in Gamo Gofa region, although not so common there.
Uses
Soil conservation, incense (resin). Description A spreading deciduous shrub or tree to 6 m.
- BARK: Yellow-grey, peeling in small papery pieces and breaking off in thick, irregular scales. Branchlets grey and hairy.
- LEAVES: Compound, about 7 cm with 7–10 pairs of hairy leaflets, each with small rounded teeth.
- FLOWERS: Flowers with 5 pink petals appear with the new leaves, on several stalks to 4 cm long, at the tips of thick branchlets.
- FRUIT: A 3-angled capsule about 2 cm long, containing 3 hard seeds.
Propagation
Cuttings, seedlings, direct sowing at site.
Seed
- Treatment: Not necessary.
- Storage: Stores well.
Management
Avoid year-after-year scraping the bark. Use tools that are purposely prepared for resin collection. Cover the cuttings with moist cloth to initiate root growth. Fill the pots for the cuttings with more sandy soils to avoid rotting of bark.
Remarks
The resin is used locally for incense. It is chewed in Somalia. This is the more important resin in southern Ethiopia.
