Source tree from Miniatree Gardens, Jan 2017
This would be a cool tree, even if it weren't so incredibly useful. It loves the heat (native to desert regions). It has these really interesting leathery serrated foliage. It has the cool green/brown peeling bark trunk. It is so unique and doesn't look like anything else in the yard. It is frost-sensitive and needs to be protected when it is young.
You can do some Google searches to see the benefits of frankincense. But short version is that it is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound. You harvest the resin when you cut / prune the tree that forms when the tree heals that wound (sap that hardens at the wound site). The resin is extremely aromatic, and you can take it internally. It tastes like a powerfully herbal cough drop. Apothecaries take the resin and extract out the essential oils to further concentrate the compounds.
Frankincense foliage in early spring
Peeling bark of Frankincense trunk
