Boswellia carteri trees are very physically variable, but are generally between 1.5 to 8 meters tall, growing directly on rocks or in sandy, rocky soil. It may be branched from the base or have a single trunk; the bark is brown or pale and papery. The trees have compound, imparipinnate leaves and white, five-petaled flowers that grow in dense bunches. The fruits are hard, not fleshy, and the seeds are wind dispersed. The trees can grow from sea level up to about 1400m in elevation and prefer areas where they can get access to frequent mists.

In Puntland, the trees are called by the Somali name, “Moxor.” Several types of the Moxor tree are recognized, depending on what the trees are physically like, what the resin is like, and where it’s growing: Moxor madow, Moxor lab, Moxor cad, Moxor dadbeed, and so on. The resin is called “Beeyo” and is incredibly variable; although it’s most commonly golden, yellow, orange, or white, some B. carteri resins are even black, red, green, or blue. This creates a dazzling rainbow of resins when they’re kept together.

A lot of botanists consider B. sacra from Oman and Yemen and B. carteri to be the same species. This is probably true botanically, but B. carteri is unique from B. sacra not only in some of its morphology, but especially in its fascinating chemical variation. Boswellia carteri is often thought to have one chemical profile and thus a particular smell, but this is because the resins are historically mixed and homogenized. When you experience resins from their individual farms, you realize that there is a delightful variety of scents and chemical profiles, from dark and smoky, to musky, to herbaceous and citrusy, to sweet, light, and floral. These single-origin resins are the trees’ true essence, and you can feel the differences depending on what the trees are experiencing.