The long racemes of green star-like flowers, tipped with the
red anthers of the stamens (like aigrettes of little stars of emerald set
with minute rubies), droop gracefully over the clusters of glossy,
glaucous leaves; and every part of the plant (bark, leaves, and flowers)
gives out the most refreshing lemon-like fragrance." (Birdwood in
Linnaean Transactions for 1869, pp. 109 seqq.; Hanbury and Flueckiger's
Pharmacographia, pp. 120 seqq.; Ritter, xii. 356 seqq.; Niebuhr,
Desc. de l'Arabie, I. p. 202, II. pp. 125-132.)
[1] "Drogue franche: - Qui a les qualites requises sans melange"
(Littre). "Franc ... Vrai, veritable" (Raynouard).
The mediaeval Olibanum was probably the Arabic Al-luban, but was
popularly interpreted as Oleum Libani. Dr. Birdwood saw at the Paris
Exhibition of 1867 samples of frankincense solemnly labelled as the
produce of Mount Lebanon!
"Professor Duemichen, of Strasburg, has discovered at the Temple of
Dair-el-Bahri, in Upper Egypt, paintings illustrating the traffic
carried on between Egypt and Arabia, as early as the 17th century B.C.
In these paintings there are representations, not only of bags of
olibanum, but also of olibanum-trees planted in tubs or boxes, being
conveyed by ship from Arabia to Egypt." (Hanbury and Flueckiger,
Pharmacographia, p. 121.)
[2] Published in J.R.G.S., vol. XV. (for 1845).
[3] By courtesy of the publishers, Messrs. Cassell, Petter, & Galpin.
