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Abyssinian Myrrh

Commiphora kua

Abyssinian Myrrh
Photo: Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0

Commiphora kua is a dry-land shrub or small tree from northeast Africa and southern Arabia, valued for its resin, with a pleasant smell when cut. It is not usually grown as a houseplant, and the key to growing it is strong sun and very well-drained soil with minimal water.

Family
Burseraceae (Burser family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry out fully between waterings, especially in winter.
Soil
Free-draining sandy or gritty mix.
Temperature
18–32 °C; protect below 10 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Eritrea to Zambia, S. Arabian Pen.
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Commiphora kua, sometimes known as Abyssinian myrrh or the Yemen myrrh, is a plant native to northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi, Oman and Yemen. It was first described as Balsamodendrum kua in 1847, and has many botanical synonyms. It can be recognised by its simple, serrate leaves and by the pseudo aril, covering the seed, which has four almost linear arm-like lobes.

Other Commiphora plants

Hairy Corkwood · Hill Mango · Balsam of Mecca · African Myrrh

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Commiphora kua by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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.

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