Commiphora erythraea var. glabrescens (syn. C. guidottii)
Appearance
Oil: amber-brown semi-solid. Resinoid: dark amber paste. Crude resin: hard, dark tear-shaped lumps.
Odor Strength
Medium
Producing Countries
Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea
Pyramid
Base
Warm, honeyed resin from Commiphora erythraea — softer than myrrh, less churchy than frankincense. Opoponax smells like cracking open amber-coloured gum tears in a Somali spice market: sweet, balsamic, faintly mushroomy, with a dry animalic warmth underneath that lingers for days on fabric.
Sweet, balsamic, warmly resinous — immediately gentler than myrrh, without its bitter medicinal edge. Where myrrh is austere and churchy, opoponax is honeyed, almost confectionery: closer to benzoin or Tolu balsam in sweetness, but drier, with a dusty old-wood quality underneath.
On a blotter, the opening is brighter than expected — a faint terpenic lift from α-santalene and bergamotene, almost citrus-adjacent. With in minutes this settles into the material's true character: warm, honeyed, softly animalic balsam. The animalic quality comes from the furanosesquiterpene fracti on and reads less 'animal' than 'old leather warmed by sun.' A liquorice-toffee effect and mushroom note appear in the heart. The dry-down is long, intimate, incense-like — amber-resinous on fabric for days.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Bright, faintly terpenic lift from α-santalene and bergamotene — almost citrus-adjacent, surprisingly fresh for a base resin
After a few hours
After a few hours
Settles into honeyed balsamic warmth; furanosesquiterpenes bring soft animalic depth, mushroom-earthiness, and a liquorice-caramellic sweetness
After a few days
After a few days
Long-lasting amber-resinous residue on fabric; warm, dry, incense-like — intimate, with vanillic undertones from heavier sesquiterpene oxidation products
Grades & Aging
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Opoponax — also called sweet myrrh, bisabol, or scented myrrh — is an oleo-gum-resin from Commiphora erythraea var. glabrescens Engl. (Burseraceae), sometimes cited under its synonym C. guidottii Chiov. It bleeds from bark incisions on small, thorny trees native to the arid lowlands of Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Eritrea. The crude resin hardens into dark, tear-shaped lumps containing 50–80% water-soluble gum, 15–40% alcohol-soluble resin, and 5–9% volatile oil.
GC-MS analys is (Marcotullio et al., 2009; Muturi et al., 2020) shows the essential oil is dominated by sesquiterpenes, with furanosesquiterpenes comprising 50.3% of the oil. Bisabolene is the single largest component at approximately 33.9%, followed by curzerene (32.6% in the lightest fracti on) and α-santalene (up to 30.1% in heavier fractions). The furanosesquiterpene fracti on is responsible for the warm, slightly animalic depth; simpler sesquiterpenes contribute woody-balsamic qualities.
Three commercial forms exist. Steam distillati on of the crude res in yields approximately 2–3% essential oil (roughly 35–50 kg of res in per 1 kg of oil). Supercritical CO₂ extracti on produces a similar yield but retains a broader molecular profile. The resinoid — produced by solvent extracti on with petroleum ether or hydrocarbons — captures heavier non-volatile molecules stripped during distillati on; it is richer, more balsamic, with caramellic and liquorice qualities the distilled oil lacks, and is the preferred form for fine fragrance work.
Opoponax should not be confused with the botanical genus Opopanax (Apiaceae), particularly O. chironium — an entirely different Mediterranean umbellifer whose gum-resin was the original 'opopanax' of Dioscorides. The modern perfumery material inherited the name through centuries of trade misidentification, likely because the dried gum tears of both plants look nearly identical. Appendino et al. (2004) confirmed that the true Opopanax chironium is a coumarin-rich plant with no olfactory resemblance to the Commiphora resin used in perfumery.
This note in Première Peau. Albâtre Sépia · Simili Mirage. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
The word 'opoponax' derives from Greek opos (juice) + panax (all-healing) — literally 'all-healing juice.' But the ancient Greeks used it for a completely different plant: Opopanax chironium, a Mediterranean umbellifer named after the centaur Chiron, whose gum-resin is rich in coumarins and smells nothing like the modern perfumery material. The East African Commiphora resin inherited the name through a trade error, likely because the dried gum tears of both plants look nearly identical. So every time a perfumer writes 'opoponax' on a formula, they perpetuate a taxonomic mix-up at least five centuries old.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Three forms are commercially available. The essential oil is obtained by steam distillati on of the crude oleo-gum-res in, yielding approximately 2–3% oil (roughly 35–50 kg of res in per 1 kg of oil). Supercritical CO₂ extracti on produces a comparable yield (~2.5%) but retains a broader molecular profile including heavier sesquiterpenes. The resinoid, prepared by extracti on with petroleum ether or other hydrocarbons, captures non-volatile components absent from the distilled oil — this form is richer, more balsamic, and preferred for fine fragrance. An absolute can be further clean from the resinoid via ethanol washing. The crude res in is harvested by making incisions in the bark of wild Commiphor a erythrae a trees in Somali a, Ethiopi a, Keny a, and Eritre a; the exuded gum hardens on exposure to air over several weeks before collecti on.
Commiphora erythraea var. glabrescens (syn. C. guidottii)
IFRA Status
Restricted (49th Amendment). Critical effect: dermal sensitization. Limits apply to both the oil (CAS 8021-36-1) and resin (CAS 9000-78-6). Usage levels vary by product category; fine fragrance is among the more permissive categories. Always consult the current IFRA Standard for exact limits per category.
Synonyms
SWEET MYRRH · OPOPANAX
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Lasting Power
Very long (base note persistence)
Appearance
Oil: amber-brown semi-solid. Resinoid: dark amber paste. Crude resin: hard, dark tear-shaped lumps.
Flash Point
Oil: 64 °C (147 °F). Resin: 47 °C (117 °F) TCC.
Specific Gravity
0.865–0.932 @ 25 °C
Refractive Index
1.488–1.504 @ 20 °C
In Perfumery
Opoponax functions as a base modifier in amber, amber, and incense compositions. Its primary role is providing sweet resinous warmth without the bitterness of myrrh or the heaviness of benzo in. In classical amber accords, it sits alongside labdanum and benzo in as a third resinous voice — the one that adds honeyed depth and rounds the sharp edges of other balsams. The resinoid form is preferred in fine fragrance for its richer, more complex profile. The essential oil is thinner but useful as a top-of-base modifier in lighter ambers. Opoponax works with frankincense (bridging its camphoraceous lift into sweeter territory), with styrax (amplifying balsamic sweetness), and with vanillic bases (tonk a, vanill a absolute) where it provides resinous structure. These are functional workarounds, not true replacements.
