The case of Frankincense mixup

Despite what many businesses say about Frankincense Sacra the truth is no morphological differences exist between Boswelia carteri and Boswelia sacra, they are from the same species.

What actually separates these two supposed species apart from each other is nothing more than habitat and time of harvest. Boswelia carteri is harvested in the summer months of March to late June, Boswelia sacra in the winter months of September to late November.

Chemically speaking the components of the two supposed species harvested are identical but due to weather conditions trees are exposed to which can vary from extreme heat to extreme winds and rain storms combined with the positioning the tree grows the percentages of the natural chemistry varies and subsequently differences are present in the fragrance and also in the colour of the resins. Generally winter harvests produce a dark resin (mohor madow sacra) and summer harvests a white coloured resin (mohor ade – ade means white). For me I would say sacra possesses a finer and more penetrative citrus quality compared to carteri. Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) oil is known for the sweet spice notes and hint of orange lemony citrus.

Both oils contain high percentages of the prized octanol, incensol, and octyl acetate. The sacra because it is harvested in the winter it does cost more to harvest at that time and  the sacra have a deeper citrus aroma than the carteri. Frankincense, also called olibanum, is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus boswella in the family Burseraceae, particularly Boswellia sacra (syn: B. carteri, B. bhaw-dajiana), B. frereana, B. serrata (B. thurifera, Indian frankincense), and B. papyrifera. The English word is derived from Old French “franc encens” (i.e., high quality incense).

There are four main species of Boswellia that produce true frankincense. Resin from each of the four is available in various grades. The grades depend on the time of harvesting; the resin is hand-sorted for quality.

Be aware there are several MLM companies out there that are adding lemon to their Frankincense boswellia carteri to give it that much sought after Aroma of soft sweet refine citrus of Sacra. Also be aware that so many companies are mixing the winter and spring harvest resins together and selling it at higher price by calling it sacra. Some companies do not care or hide that they mix it and call it Fereana or Boswellia and still sell at a high price.