Labdanum—Gift Fit for a Ruler

● This was one of the fine products that Jacob told his sons to take as a gift to one who was a ruler in Egypt second only to Pharaoh. (Gen. 43:11) Sometimes mistaken for myrrh, labdanum is an aromatic gum, the product of a beautiful-flowered, bushy little plant known as the rockrose. The shrub’s large flowers resemble the wild rose. Labdanum is the gum that exudes from the leaves and stems of the little shrubs. It is soft, dark brown or black and has a delicately scented, fragrant odor and bitter taste. It is used in perfumes and, at one time, was also used extensively in medicine.—Gen. 37:25.