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Boswellia frereana
Also called African Elemi, Yigaartree
Boswellia frereana is a species of plant native to northern Somalia where it is known as yagcar, yagar, yigaar, or yegaar. Its frankincense is nicknamed the king of all frankincense, and called by the locals maydi (other spellings include: meydi, meyti, maidi, maieti, and mayeti) or the common name for all frankincense, fooh..The specific epithet refers to William Edward Frere, Member of Council at Bombay.
Other than its aromatic uses, the locals also use it for medicinal purposes; they make it into a paste called "malmal" and apply it on the joints to treat inflammation and arthritis. It is reported to be cultivated in Yemen, but this is more than likely based on an 1870 record by Dr. G. Birdwood citing that B. frereana was seen in Sir Robert Playfair's garden in Aden (Yemen). Playfair had brought B. frereana from Somalia and cultivated it in his garden in Aden.
Boswellia ameero · Boswellia bullata · Boswellia dalzielii · Boswellia dioscoridis · Boswellia elegans · Boswellia elongata · Boswellia nana · Boswellia ogadensis · Elephant tree · Boswellia pirottae · Boswellia popoviana · Frankincense
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Boswellia frereana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
