Myrrh

Commiphora myrrha

Also: Gum myrrh, Commiphora molmol

WarmingDryingTonifying

A bitter resin that tightens and disinfects mouths, throats, and skin.

Reddish-brown tears of resin bled from the slashed bark of a small, thorny desert tree. Myrrh is a strong antimicrobial astringent, used mostly on the skin and in the mouth and throat, where it firms slack, inflamed tissue and fights infection.

Energetics: Hot, drying, toning
Taste: Bitter, resinous, aromatic, astringent
Family: Burseraceae (frankincense family)
Parts used: Resin

Medicinal uses 5

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Traditional useLab and mechanism studiesClinical studies

Mouth sores & gumsTLC
Dabbed on canker sores or swished as a rinse, it firms spongy, bleeding gums and clears mouth infections.
Sore throatTLC
A gargle or throat spray for sore throats and tonsillitis.
Acne & breakoutsTLC
Clears infected, inflamed skin, from boils to breakouts.
Cuts, scrapes & bleedingTLC
A wash or salve for infected, slow-healing sores and ulcers.
Wet cough & congestionTLC
In small doses, dries excess phlegm in a cold, wet chest.

Preparations

Strong-alcohol tincture, gargles and rinses, salves, and tooth powder.

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Cautions

Taken by mouth, keep to small doses for short periods; large doses can upset the stomach, kidneys, and heart.
Herbalists leave it out during a fever and other hot, inflamed states.
Use the resin or its tincture; the essential oil is very concentrated and carries only part of the resin's action.
It may lower blood sugar and change how warfarin works; check with your prescriber.

Medication interactions

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Pregnancy & breastfeeding

PregnancyAvoid

Myrrh is a classic emmenagogue that stimulates the uterus, recorded across many traditions, so it is avoided throughout pregnancy.

BreastfeedingAvoid

Its action on the uterus keeps it out of nursing.

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Folklore

Myrrh is among the oldest traded resins. Egyptian expeditions sailed to the Land of Punt for it, and Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari shows incense trees being carried home in baskets around 1470 BCE. Egyptians burned it in kyphi, their temple incense, and used it in embalming. Its name comes from the Semitic root for bitter, shared by the Hebrew mor and the Arabic murr.

How to grow

A small, thorny desert tree that needs heat and very dry, well-drained ground and will not survive frost. Harvesters cut the bark, and the pale yellow sap that wells up hardens over weeks into reddish-brown tears.

In the wild

Rocky, arid hills around the Horn of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula, in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen, and Oman.

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