Labdanum

Labdanum, myrrh is a resin which is obtained in the Mediterranean region from different species of cistus. In the summer occurs in the sunlight, the oily resin from the leaves and twigs, as if sweat the plant.

Even in Ancient Egypt labdanum was very popular. The resin was also used among other things as incense. Because of his amber -like, balsamic aroma, it is used as raw material for the perfume industry. A good labdanum resinoid has a lovely, subtle hint of honey scent that you can easily smell out of many chypre perfumes. Labdanum is like most resins used in perfumery also a good fixative.

The term Labdanum has its origins in the Syrian- Phoenician -speaking world. Where the plant has been designated as " Ladan " ( sticky herb). It was for beauty care, and used as a remedy.

In ancient times, especially the resin of the Cretan rock rose (Cistus creticus ) was used, and even the Greek scholar Dioscorides described how shepherds drove their animals in the dense shrubbery and then herauskämmten the Harzklümpchen from the fur.

A reliable source for this technique can be found in Otto Warburg's " The plant world " (Vol. II), where he writes how the pleasantly fragrant resin " (...) from the beard and leg hair of goats which grazed in the Zistrosengebüschen and their fur with the glandular secretions smeared (...) " auskämmte. " Even pulled one rope through the Zistrosenbüsche to collect the sticky resin from what one is doing even now still in Crete, only that one uses instead the ropes thin leather straps. "

Today, the labdanum is produced mostly from the paint - Rockrose (Cistus ladanifer ) because it produces significantly more resin than other types. It occurs in the western Mediterranean ( France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco). Labdanum production is mainly concentrated in Spain. In France, the Ladanifer is only one crop and thus to find for tourists not freely accessible in the landscape. Who but the Massif de l' Esterel wanders through and looking at places over hedges and fences, who will be able to discover small plantations with little luck. However, the wild - Montpellier cistus exudes with its small flowers, the leaves of this species are only slightly sticky, a very similar scent. A real Ladanifer can be recognized by the large, white flowers, which have small, brownish - black spots in the approach. The sticky leaves are lanceolate.

In the Bible it is mentioned (Gen 37,25 EU, Gen 43,11 EU).

From the resin of the labdanum is obtained by steam distillation, which is also used in perfumery and soap industry. The ingredients such as Pinene, camphene, myrcene, phellandrene, inter alia, were isolated and characterized analytically