Boswellia and Commiphora seeds

[Marcel]

My quest to fill my garden with plants of religious and spiritual significance is expanding and now I'm after some Boswellia sp. and Commiphora sp. plants. It seems a lot of people are after these seeds, but there are a few things that get in the way:

 

• Price
  
• Availability
  
• Viability
  

 

There's a vendor selling Boswellia sacra seeds on ebay for $80 but I understand that they're not viable after a week (and even then, they've got hideously low germ rates). Worth the high cost risk?

Anyone know of any live plants for sale in Australia? Cuttings?

Also, anyone out there have any experience with growing these plants?

-M

[applesnail]

Totally off the topic,did you ever get hold of the bo tree ficus relig...i got some seed if your still searching for this one, just pm me if you still havnt aquired it and want some seed!

[Scientician]

Hey Marcel,

there is also an American vendor selling Boswellia Sacra seeds on ebay 100 seeds for $25. I have had varied success with Commiphora Schimperi & have actually planted another batch of seeds yesterday. To me the trouble lies in getting them to germinate. Best results for me have been in a premium seed raising mix with some sand & perlite added. After planting the seeds place pot in ziplock bag & place in full sun. If they haven't sprouted in a couple of weeks then they probably won't. This technique might not be optimal but has worked best for me. once they have sprouted they are actually pretty damn resilient if potted in the appropriate soil medium.

good luck

[tripsis]

Species in these genera interest me too. I've got some seeds (only 3 or 4) of Boswellia serrata, but was planning on sowing them in spring. If they really only have a one week viability, it seems a little pointless though.

Muskrat is Commiphora schimperi aromatic like Commiphora myrrha?

[Marcel]

Applesnail, as it happens, I ordered myself a Bo Tree this week. Should arrive soon!

And Muskrat, thanks for the tip about the US ebay vendor. Have you imported this species from overseas before? The sacra species aren't on the AQIS list of permitted Boswellia species, for what it's worth...

Tripsis, if I get any B. sacra seeds, I'll let you know (you'll probably have more luck than I).

-

[Scientician]

Species in these genera interest me too. I've got some seeds (only 3 or 4) of Boswellia serrata, but was planning on sowing them in spring. If they really only have a one week viability, it seems a little pointless though.

Muskrat is Commiphora schimperi aromatic like Commiphora myrrha?

 

I am pretty sure that it is an aromatic species. This is what I've been led to believe anyway. They are still too small for me to feel comfortable breaking sections off to have a good sniff (about 10cm-20cm each).

Marcel: I haven't imported them myself but have had them on my watch list for quite a while. I am fairly confident that 100 boswellia sacra seeds would get through OK. I will be getting myself some in a few weeks so I can leave a post about my success if anyone is interested.

[WoodDragon]

I'm another who is insanely interested in these two genera, but even if I could germinate the buggers indoors there's no point attempting to grow them here, unless it's as bonsai in a hothouse, and I'm not sure if I want to go down that route.

I envy those who have sufficient warmth to grow these well outdoors, and I hope that down the track these become more commonly grown in Australia. Keep up the hunting, guys!

[Marcel]

WoodDragon, we envy you your ability to grow cold-lovers. I wish I could effortlessly set up a nice birch grove in my backyard.

And gooseberries.

And currants.

[WoodDragon]

Marcel, I hear you.

On balance I love my climate, because (as you point out) I can grow the huge range of fruits, vegies and temperate plants that I love.

My mandrakes love it here too, and they come first for me. I'm building a polytunnel for my orchids and sissy cacti and succulents, so I'm not too badly off.

And if someone here can convince me that the Boswellia and Commiphora seeds gettng around have some viability, I might yet go the bonsai route anyway. Either that, or invest in a whole lot of sweaty and backbreaking toil to make a brick-walled (and perhaps glassed) microclimate.

For the hardnuts here, the book Cultivation of Boswelia might be worth a purchase. The author's blog is here.

[planthelper]

WoodDragon, we envy you your ability to grow cold-lovers. I wish I could effortlessly set up a nice birch grove in my backyard.

And gooseberries.

And currants.

 

actualy i know/knew of a birch tree in sydney, but don't know if it still stands, so you can grow birches in sydney, (unless you have a lot of salt spray).

i miss cold climat plants and fruits aswell in my garden, syringa is one of them....

[random]

I too am interested in these plants, so have been reading it, and after reading the other thread comments I now wish someone would make a sticky thread each on cool climate, tropical, temperate ethno plants and anything in between so i'll know what grows best in which places

someone, anyone? Would be specifically useful for newbies <---

p.s sorry 4 thread hijack!

[WoodDragon]

Heh, birches are almost a weed here. As a long-time mainlander though, I never tire of looking at their fantastic bark.

Nice idea about the climate threads Meeka. It might be useful to leave it to Torsten to start them, just in case he thinks that there are too many stickies to be able to at three more in one go. He might have thoughts on other ways to approach the subject.

[WoodDragon]

For the folk who might not have followed my links previously, there is one subsequent link that takes one to a nicely illustrated PDF written by the author of "Cultivation of Boswellia".

It's worth a look.

Edited April 18, 2011 by WoodDragon

[random]

Love that link, some great info and photos, especially of it growing out of the cliff face, gorgeous.

[Marcel]

Thanks WoodDragon. Great pdf. I think I might bonsai me a Boswellia, should I ever get a hold of some seeds. I don't know if it's simply the power of suggestion, but those guys really do make me think of the arid East African desert.

And planthelper, there are actually quite a lot of birches in Sydney. The catch is that you need to do some pretty serious watering and sun protection for the first few years. I'm thinking of planting four or five above some sort of subterranean open wicking garden bed (like the one on page 6 of this document). There are also the himalayan birches, which are more tolerant of Sydney heat and dryness.

[WoodDragon]

A really nice paper on the biogeography of the distribution of Boswellia papyrifera in Eritrea.

And somewhat less indepth paper on Boswellia sacra.

Another, that includes acacias: "Natural gum and resin bearing species of Ethiopiaand their potential applications".

Perhaps of interest - population viability analysis.

More ecology.

Reproductive biology of Boswellia serrata.

An interesting paper on germination - A Comparative Study of Natural Regeneration of B. papyrifera and Other Tree Species in Jebel Marra Darfur; Sudan. Curiously, sap-tapped trees show an apparently significantly lower rate of viable seed set, but the viablility after storage isn't as precipitous as I might have assumed. Also, I see no reference to temperature of germination, and I am very suspicious that much failure with germination might be from having the seeds at too low a temperature. If I were to try, I'd probably sow 24-hour pre-soaked seed in crushed limestone gravel, and put the tray on a heat pad to give a temperature of around 30 C (or more?), and perhaps lower it to 20 C at night. This is a little different to other techniques, but it mimics more closely the natural environment of these species.

Edited April 18, 2011 by WoodDragon

[Zen Peddler]

Out of interest has anyone tried Boswellia for its antiinflammatory properties?

[WoodDragon]

Muskrat, Tripsis, Marcel...

Are you guys interested in pooling resources to get a bulk lot of Boswellia seeds?

[Marcel]

Count me in, though given the short shelf life of the seeds and the low germ rates, it might be best wait until the weather warms up a bit, no?

[Teotzlcoatl]

Order sacred succulent's catalog, they have a wide selection of the plants you seek including Boswellia and Commiphora.

[herbologist]

I have had seeds labeled as B.sacra seized before.

Boswellia thurifera are allowed.

[tripsis]

Yeah Woody, depending on price and when we'd be getting them, I'd be interested.

[coin]

Out of interest has anyone tried Boswellia for its antiinflammatory properties?

 

I've seen a few people using "Pain Relief" product by Ethical Nutrients brand which is BosPure & BioCurcumin (BCM-95), which has been working very well with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects

[weedRampage]

I bought some boswellia from a chinese herbalist. If you ask for Ruxiang you can

get the standard 600grm pack for under $20.

My best attempt at pronouncing it went something like ROO ZEE ANG.

I powdered it in the coffee grinder with 50% sugar as a dispersant

and also the stop the stuff turning into a gummy mess in the grinder.

I have been taking amounts that are less than the standardised boswellic

acid doses, less than 250mg of crude resin. The results are not

incredibly apparent at that dose but I would definitely recommend it to

anybody. It has a mild steroidal boost without making you eat like a pig

or get too moody.

It is supposed to be good for almost everything that plagues the western

condition, asthma, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome...

As for the seeds. I really doubt that they have such a short lifespan.

Being a desert plant it is more likely that they have a long dormancy

and / or low viability.

I just saw in the previous post something about BioCurcumin a.k.a. turmeric.

If you know anyone who suffers from shingles or cold sores please pass on

the info that straight turmeric oil just stops it dead in its tracks.

I get shingles so bad it can totally put me out of action and this

easy remedy has made it possible to deal with it quickly.

BioVeda, based in Byron Bay sells the turmeric oil.

Edited May 7, 2011 by weedRampage

[Marcel]

Do you eat it dry, or make it into some sort of tea?

I just imagined eating lumps of frankincense resin and it made me feel sick...