Assessment of Ethiopia's Myrrh

Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha) is the sister resin to Frankincense, traded just as widely for its use in perfume, medicine, incense, and supplements. Despite this, it has received far less attention than the frankincense trees (Boswellia spp.), and both the structure of the supply chain, and the status of the trees themselves, has remained little-documented.

Our project seeks to address this, producing some of the first data on myrrh population structures, regeneration, and resin production systems. Our fieldwork is concentrated in southern Ethiopia, a key myrrh production zone, with supplementary data from Kenya, Somalia, and Oman.

Fieldwork is being carried out from 2025-2027; our 2026 expedition south of the Webbe Shabelle in Ethiopia carried the Explorers Club Flag N. 136.