" An adhesive popular for a thousand years, gum arabic, comes from the acacia gum tree. The resin of trees of the genus Boswellia is a particularly nice-smelling glue called frankincense. Myrrh, another aromatic resin, comes from a thorny tree of the genus Commiphora. Resins were often used in medicines as well as in perfumes, perhaps because their active chemical components, like phenols, had potent antibacterial properties. Frankincense and myrrh were so highly valued in antiquity that they were given as presents to queens, kings, and emperors, which is why their presence in the Christian nativity story is so significant. "

― Mark Miodownik , Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives