Opopanax chironium, also known as "sweet
myrrhMyrrh is a reddish-brown resinous material, the dried sap of a number of trees, but primarily from Commiphora myrrha, which is native to Yemen, Somalia, the eastern parts of Ethiopia, and Commiphora gileadensis, which is native to Jordan...
" or "bisabol myrrh," is a
herbA herb is a plant that is valued for flavor, scent, or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes....
that grows one to three feet high and produces a large,
yellowYellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–580 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of somewhat longer and shorter wavelengths...
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
. The plant thrives in warm climates like
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
and
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
, but also grows in cooler climates. Some view opoponax grown in cooler climates as being of inferior quality.
A consumable
resinResin is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. It is valued for its chemical constituents and uses, such as varnishes and adhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume. Fossilized resins are the source of amber...
can be extracted from opoponax by cutting the plant at the base of a
stemA stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , cones or other stems etc. The internodes act as spaces that distance one node from another...
and sun-drying the juice that flows out.
Opopanax chironium, also known as "sweet
myrrhMyrrh is a reddish-brown resinous material, the dried sap of a number of trees, but primarily from Commiphora myrrha, which is native to Yemen, Somalia, the eastern parts of Ethiopia, and Commiphora gileadensis, which is native to Jordan...
" or "bisabol myrrh," is a
herbA herb is a plant that is valued for flavor, scent, or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes....
that grows one to three feet high and produces a large,
yellowYellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–580 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of somewhat longer and shorter wavelengths...
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
. The plant thrives in warm climates like
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
and
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
, but also grows in cooler climates. Some view opoponax grown in cooler climates as being of inferior quality.
A consumable
resinResin is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. It is valued for its chemical constituents and uses, such as varnishes and adhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume. Fossilized resins are the source of amber...
can be extracted from opoponax by cutting the plant at the base of a
stemA stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , cones or other stems etc. The internodes act as spaces that distance one node from another...
and sun-drying the juice that flows out. Though people often find the taste acrid and bitter, the highly flammable resin can be burned as
incenseIncense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term incense refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces....
to produce a scent somewhat like
balsamBalsam is a term used for various pleasantly scented plant products. These are oily or gummy oleoresins, usually containing benzoic acid or cinnamic acid, obtained from the exudates of various trees and shrubs and used as a base for some botanical medicines...
or
lavenderThe lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region south to tropical Africa and to the southeast regions of India. The genus includes annuals, herbaceous plants, subshrubs, and small shrubs...
. The resin has been used in the treatment of spasms, and, before that, as an
emmenagogueEmmenagogues are herbs which stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus; some stimulate menstruation. Women have used plants such as mugwort, parsley and ginger to prevent or terminate early pregnancy...
in the treatment of
asthmaAsthma is a predisposition to chronic inflammation of the lungs in which the airways are reversibly narrowed. Asthma affects 7% of the population of the United States, and 300 million worldwide...
, chronic visceral infections,
hysteriaHysteria, in its colloquial use, describes a state of mind, one of unmanageable fear or emotional excesses. The fear is often caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part or most commonly on an imagined problem with that...
and
hypochondriaHypochondriasis refers to an excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness...
. Opoponax resin is most frequently sold in dried irregular pieces, though tear-shaped gems are not uncommon.
Opoponax is also used in the production of certain perfumes.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman
opopanac, from Latin opopanax, from Hellenistic Greek ὀποπάναξ, from Ancient Greek ὀπός ‘vegetable juice’ + πάναξ ‘panacea’ (all healing).
Cultural references to opoponax
- King Solomon allegedly regarded the opoponax as the noblest of incense gums.
- In the penultimate chapter of James Joyce's
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish expatriate author, playwright and poet of the 20th century. He is known for his landmark novel Ulysses and its controversial successor Finnegans Wake , as well as the short story collection Dubliners and the semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of...
UlyssesUlysses is a novel by James Joyce, first serialized in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on February 2, 1922, in Paris...
, Leopold BloomLeopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and antihero of James Joyce's novel Ulysses, assuming the role of the 'Odysseus' character. Like the Greek hero in The Odyssey, he is absent at the beginning of the story, and does not feature until episode four of the novel...
recognizes opoponax as an ingredient in the perfume of his wife, MollyMolly Bloom is a fictional character in the novel Ulysses by James Joyce. The wife of main character Leopold Bloom, she roughly corresponds to Penelope in the Odyssey. The major difference between Molly and Penelope is that while Penelope is eternally faithful, Molly is not, having an affair with...
.
- In The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke, or The Statutory Duel, was the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on March 7, 1896, and ran for 123 performances...
, by W. S. GilbertSir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, the mock-Grecian chorus that opens the second Act repeat the words "Opoponax eloia!" many times.
- In the novel Black House by Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American writer of contemporary horror fiction, science fiction, fantasy literature, and screenplays. An estimated 300–350 million copies of King's novels and short story collections have been sold, and many of his stories have been adapted for film, television, and...
and Peter StraubThis article is about Peter Straub the novelist. For the German statesman, see Peter Straub .Peter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre...
, the word opopanax is used repeatedly and constantly in a nonsensical fashion, as both a verb and an adjective (e.g. "distant cry of the opoponax", the opoponax this, the opoponax that, etc.) eventually becoming a symbol for all the strange and incomprehensible events unfolding in the book.
- In another Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American writer of contemporary horror fiction, science fiction, fantasy literature, and screenplays. An estimated 300–350 million copies of King's novels and short story collections have been sold, and many of his stories have been adapted for film, television, and...
novel, Wolves of the CallaWolves of the Calla is the fifth book in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. This book continues the story of Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers, and Oy as they make their way toward the Dark Tower...
(the fifth book in The Dark TowerThe Dark Tower is a series of seven books written by American author Stephen King between 1970 and 2004. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror and western elements. They describe a gunslinger's quest toward a tower whose nature the...
series), a character holds an "opopanax feather", thus suggesting that it is the name of a bird. No other explanation is given in the story.
- In the novel Against the Day
Against the Day is a novel by Thomas Pynchon. The narrative takes place between the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the time immediately following World War I and features more than a hundred characters spread across the United States, Europe, Mexico, Central Asia, and "one or two places not strictly...
by Thomas PynchonThomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist based in New York City and noted for his dense and complex works of fiction. Hailing from Long Island, Pynchon spent two years in the United States Navy and earned an English degree from Cornell University...
, the child mobster "Plug" Loafsley runs a club that smells strongly of opopanax, vervain, and bodily ejecta.
- Gives the title of John Brosnan's 1993 SF
SF is a two-letter abbreviation which may refer to:* Square foot* Safety Factor, See Safe working loadIn Places:* San Francisco, California, a city with a population of more than 800,000, located on the West Coast of the United States....
novel 'The Opoponax Invasion', where an alien DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information...
is contained in a resin said to be similar to the opoponax.
- In the novel 'The Lost Luggage Porter' by Andrew Martin
Andrew Martin is an English novelist and journalist.Martin was brought up in Yorkshire, studied at the University of Oxford and qualified as a barrister...
, the hero's wife has sweet jars of Parma VioletsParma Violets are a violet-flavoured confectionery manufactured by the Derbyshire-based company Swizzels Matlow. The candies are hard, biconcave disc-shaped sweets, similar to the Fizzers product from the same company, but without their fizziness. Swizzels Matlow have also released a line of Giant...
and Opoponax.