''Styrax benzoin'' is a species of tree native to Sumatra in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Common names for the tree include gum benjamin tree, loban (in Arabic), kemenyan (in Indonesia and Malaysia), onycha, and Sumatra benzoin tree.

Distribution

It is a common member of the forests of Sumatra, Indonesia, where it grows to about 12-30 meters in height. ''Styrax benzoin'' can live 70-100 years. It is unknown how it came to Sumatra. Scientists says ''styrax benzoin'' from Sumatra has the best quality. The process of tapping and harvesting frankincense takes one year. The ''styrax benzoin'' tree trunk is cut slightly, so that the white styrax sap will appear from the skin. After 4-6 months of the styrax sap hardens on the tree trunks at which point the sap can be harvested. The sap that has been harvested is not clean and is dried for 3 to 6 months to remove impurities. After the sap has dried, it is ready for export. You can find incense trees in several countries in Southeast Asia, such as

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Laos,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

and

. The tree can thrive in mountainous areas and cold temperatures with high rainfall. Styrax trees can also grow in lowland areas with hot temperatures but these do not produce good quality styrax sap.JSTOR Plant Science
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Cultivation

''Styrax benzoin'' is cultivated as a main source of

benzoin resin Benzoin or benjamin (corrupted pronunciation) is a balsamic resin obtained from the bark of several species of trees in the genus ''Styrax''. It is used in perfumes and some kinds of incense and as a flavoring and medicine (see tincture of ben ...

in Indonesia. It is also grown as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

for shade in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

References

benzoin Trees of Sumatra Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Plants described in 1787 {{Ericales-stub

Distribution

Cultivation

See also

References