Labdanum, also called ladanum, ladan, or ladanon, is a sticky brown resin obtained from the shrubs Cistus ladanifer ('gum rockrose', western Mediterranean) and Cistus creticus ('pink rockrose', eastern Mediterranean), species of rock rose. It was historically used in herbal medicine and is still used in the preparation of some perfumes and vermouths.
History
In ancient times, labdanum was collected by combing the beards and thighs of goats and sheep that had grazed on the cistus shrubs.William Rhind, 1857. A History of the Vegetable Kingdom: embracing the physiology of plants, pp 130, 157, 554. Wooden instruments used were referred to in 19th-century Crete as ergastiri;Rhind 1857: 554. a lambadistrion ("labdanum-gatherer") was a kind of rake to which a double row of leathern thongs was fixed instead of teeth.Rhind 1857: Robert Bentley, Henry Trimen, Medicinal Plants: Being descriptions with original figures, Volume 1. These were used to sweep the shrubs and collect the resin, which was later extracted. It was collected by the shepherds and sold to coastal traders. The resin was used as an ingredient for incense, and medicinally to treat colds, coughs, menstrual problems and rheumatism. as cited in
Labdanum was produced on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea in antiquity. In the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 37:25 and 43:11 contains two mentions of labdanum being carried to Egypt from Canaan. The word loṭ ( 'resin') in these two passages is usually interpreted as referring to labdanum on the basis of Semitic cognates.
Percy Newberry, a specialist on ancient Egypt, speculated that the false beard worn by Osiris and pharaohs may have originally represented a "labdanum-laden goat's beard". He also argued that the sceptre of Osiris, which is usually interpreted as either a flail or a flabellum, was more likely an instrument for collecting labdanum similar to that used in nineteenth-century Crete.
Some scholars, such as Samuel Bochart,A Synopsis of Criticisms Upon Those Passages of the Old Testament in Which Modern Commentators Have Differed From the Authorized Version: Together With ... in the Hebrew English Texts V.2 Pt.2 by Richard Arthur Francis BarrettRimmel, Eugene, The book of perfumes (MDCCCLXV)A dictionary of the natural history of the Bible: By Thaddeus Mason Harris H. J. Abrahams,Abrahams, H.J. – Onycha, Ingredient of the Ancient Jewish Incense: An attempt at identification, Econ. Bot. 33(2): 233–6 1979 and Saadia Gaon (882–942),Abrahams, H.J.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/saadya/ state that the mysterious onycha ( ), an ingredient in the incense offering mentioned in Exodus 30:34, was actually labdanum.
Modern uses
Labdanum is produced today mainly for the perfume industry. The raw resin is usually extracted by boiling the leaves and twigs. An absolute is also obtained by solvent extraction. An essential oil is produced by steam distillation. The raw gum is a black or sometimes dark brown, fragrant mass containing up to 20% or more of water. It is plastic but not pourable, and becomes brittle with age. The absolute is dark amber-green and very thick at room temperature. The fragrance is more refined than the raw resin. The odour is very rich, complex and tenacious. Labdanum is much valued in perfumery because of its resemblance to ambergris, which has been banned from use in many countries because it originates from the sperm whale, which is an endangered species. Labdanum is the main ingredient used when making the scent of amber in perfumery, as well as chypre fragrances. Labdanum's odour is variously described as amber, sweet, woody, powdery, fruity, animalic, ambergris, dry musk, or leathery.
See also
Labdane
References