The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Trees and Shrubs => Topic started by: Joanna Savage on September 14, 2014, 07:35:50 AM
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Murabilia, the Lucca plant show was held last weekend with lots of temptation for those interested in summer dry plants. I was unable to resist a herb with the common name Balsam of Gilead as I have recently been reading Andrew Dalby's Dangerous Tastes, The Story of Spices. So I bought the plant for its name.
Alas it bears no relation to the ancient Balsam of Gilead, Commiphora opobalsamum. The resin was tapped from that tree and sent to Rome where Martial wrote of fashionable men combing curled hair neatly and always smelling of balsam and cinnamon. Later the name transferred to Populus xjackii a cross including P.balsamifera. Again it was a source of scented resin.
I have been unable to find how or why the name then became transferred to my rather uninteresting looking shrub from the Canaries, although I have heard that it is good cooked with chicken. Does anyone have further information? In particular I would like to ask Oron if he sees Commiphora and if the resin is still collected.
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I've never thought of trying to cook with Cedronella - it is very strongly scented. I love crushing the leaves and smelling my hand when I go past my bushes (1m x 1m) but cannot imagine the taste of chicken stuffed with it, or biscuits either.
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I have a strain of it that smells strongly of safrole ( sassafras/ rootbeer) almost aniseedy
I could imagine that going better with chicken than the more resinous , balsamy flavoured one.
Seedlings have the have the same scent as the parent plant.
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A small amount of an 'aniseedy' one could be rather good in biscuits. Think it could be worth trying to find some, does your strain have a name?
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No name that I know of.
I got it a few years ago from a friend who's had I for years.
My original plant died and I though I'd lost it and was disappointed because it was unusual,
but some volunteers came up from seed some time later with the same scent.