Journal to a Muse

Frankincense: More than you want to know?

Apparently Frankincense (just below) and Myrrh (way below) are interchangeable.
This info and the illustrations are from the UCLA biomedical library. (I've made a few changes for brevity).

FRANKINCENSE	Click image to enlarge
Genus Species		Boswellia thurifera
Family		Buseraceae
Origin		Arabia, East Africa (particularly Oman, Socotra, Somalia)
Cultivated
Common Name		MYRRH
Genus Species		Commiphora myrrha
Family		Buseraceae
Origin		Southern Arabia, Northeast Africa
Cultivated
Description	From earliest history until today, fragrant, alluring smells have been regarded as essential elements of civilized relationships. Exotic plant odors and the scents that could be utilized for body application have inspired explorers, aristocrats, writers, poets, merchants and priests, and they have been of fundamental relevance to religious practices and to courtship. Many societies have felt that the burning of fragrant woods provides an ideal, ethereal token of appreciation to their gods. The liberation of incense smoke was a source of perfume: this word comes from the Latin per fumum, “by smoke”. Incense is a word that means “that which is lit”. The main incense fragrances were frankincense and myrrh. The sophisticated Greeks greatly appreciated such aromatic sources (aromata) ...as Egyptian fragrant woods, and their exudates, such as those of myrrh, frankincense (olibanum) and cinnamon. Enormous amounts of money were spent on these exotic imports. ... The more precious perfume incenses and spices came as imports through Arabia along well-established incense routes to be eagerly purchased by Mediterranean merchants who sold them to satisfy the increasing demands of markets throughout Europe. The most important ancient fragrances were frankincense and myrrh. The Arabs used the milky sap of the frankincense tree, and called it al lubán, from the word for milk. (The same word gave rise to the name of Lebanon, whose mountains were always capped by milky snow). “Al lubán” became anglicized to olibanum, which is another name for frankincense; the latter name refers to the pre-eminence of this resin, the true or frank incense. Myrrh is a resin that has a bitter taste; its name is derived from Hebrew murr or maror, meaning bitter. Frankincense came mainly from the Dhofari region of Oman, and the best of this fragrant oleoresin source still characterizes this remote region. Myrrh traditionally came from Punt; this area was probably in Somalia, Ethiopia or Eritrea, but it may have been in Yemen, Oman or Southern Arabia. ... Resins do not decay, and as shown by Majno, the resins of myrrh and similar agents are bacteriostatic. Myrrh continues to be used for this purpose in mouthwashes and toothpastes. Cinnamon, and the similar bark, cassia, when burned gives off a delightful fragrance; this is also readily obtained by grinding the bark. The phenolic compounds, such as cinnamic acid, are bacteriostatic, and fumes from their resins may well have served as fumigants as well as pleasing incenses. The fragrance industry of today uses an enormous number of natural and synthetic molecules that singly or in combination evoke strong olfactory or gustatory sensations. Most spices and many herbs are used in the preparation of the fragrant components of scents, perfumes, cosmetics, body creams and lotions, hair preparations and air fresheners. Increasingly, these aromatic essences from plants are being utilized in aromatherapy, where their odiferous properties are fancifully related to specific physical and psychological effects

Another page noted that an Emperor of Rome used a fortune's worth of myrrh when the Empress died and was awaiting burial. Hard to know if the aroma of the incense was for prayer purpose, or "air freshening."

With those thorns, I wouldn't want to get them mixed up.