Hagar (or Xagar, Somali) is a special resin and relatively atypical for a Commiphora resin.

The genus Commiphora, like its cousin frankincense, belongs to the balsam tree family and is even more numerous on our wonderful earth than Boswellia trees (frankincense). It is difficult to say exactly how many Commiphora species there are, as botany is basically not very well established for resins. But certainly there are more than 100 different species. Also, the distribution of Commiphora trees is wider than that of the species Boswellia (frankincense).

Hagar, like its sister Hadi, comes from Somalia and both are traded as Opoponax. The fruity, reddish-orange Opoponax is called Hadi in Somalia. The darker, sometimes still sticky resin with the oceanic, deep fragrance is called Hagar.

The Hagar resin very quickly became George's favorite "myrrh" because the scent when smoked is not bitter at all. Even if you just walk by the bags of hagar, you stop for a moment and breathe in the fragrance, which is easily perceived in the surrounding area. Since the resin is very oily, the scent is really intense.

The scent of Hagar is very soft, very deep and mystical. The aroma is certainly also sweet, caramel-like, but it also has something woody and smells like old monastery chambers.

It is traded as both Commiphora erythrae and Commiphora holtziana.