Frankincense grows on small trees called the Boswelli Tree; they are of the botanical family Burseraceae. Their natural growing range is limited and most of the Frankincense traded worldwide is exported from Southern Arabia (Oman & Yemen) and North East Africa. But it is the Frankincense from The Dhofar region of Oman that has the highest quality due to the nature of its location. Most Frankincense is collected by tapping: making deliberate incisions with an axe into the bark of the tree. The milky liquid that exudes, hardens on exposure to air into droplets which is then easily detached by the collector about two weeks later. New tappings are made at the same place as old ones after removing hardened resin from the previous cut. The tapping usually takes place between June to August.The time taken between each cuttin interval and each tree and time of year the Frankincense varies according to the species and the customs in the area of production. The resin is stored for about 6 weeks to harden. The only process undertaken after collection is sorting and grading of the resin, usually done by a local merchant.