CHAP. 34.—THE TREES WHICH PRODUCE MYRRH.
The tree grows to the height of five cubits, and has thorns
upon it: the trunk is hard and spiral, and thicker than that
of the incense-tree, and much more so at the root than at the
upper part of the tree. Some authors have said that the bark
is smooth like that of the arbute, others, that it is rough and
covered with thorns: it has the leaf of the olive, but more wavy,
with sharp points at the edges: Juba says, however, that it
resembles the leaf of the olusatrum. Some again say that it
resembles the juniper, [Note] only that it is rougher and bristling
with thorns, and that the leaves are of a rounder shape, though
they have exactly the taste of the juniper. There have been
some writers who have incorrectly asserted that both myrrh
and frankincense are the product of the same tree.