Commiphora samharensis Schweinf.

Small spiny glabrous trees up to 6(–9) m. tall; trunk yellowish, pale brown or grey, the outer bark peeling in very small curved flakes; twigs dark purplish, usually rather zigzag; slash smooth, with pink or red layers; exudate clear, volatile, strongly resin-scented, not producing a hard gum-resin.. Leaves all 3-foliolate; petiole as long, or almost as long, as the terminal leaflet, which is oblate, orbicular or elliptic, usually acuminate at the apex and abruptly constricted below the centre into a very narrow, petiolule-like, attenuate base, 10–100(–120) mm. long, 10–70 mm. wide; lateral leaflets 1/4–4/5 as large as the terminal with much shorter attenuate bases; margins entire or crenate-serrate.. Flowers usually precocious, dark red, solitary or clustered at the tips of spurs; ♂ in 2–9-flowered cymes up to 12 mm. long, with bracts up to 0.5 mm. long.. Male flowers: calyx-tube ± 3 mm., with triangular lobes ± 1 mm. long; petals linear, 5–6 mm. long, 1 mm. wide; filaments 4 and 2.5 mm., anthers 1.0 and 0.5 mm. long.. Female flowers in 1–2-flowered cymes; peduncle 1–4(–10) mm.; pedicel 1–5(–8) mm. long; calyx often caducous but sometimes persistent and then forming a loose collar around the fruiting pedicel; petals 4 mm. long; sterile stamens ± 1 mm. long; occasionally hermaphrodite flowers with functional stamens may be produced on ♀ trees.. Fruit stalk 2–5(–13) mm. long; drupe obliquely obovoid, rounded or truncate apically, 8–10 × 7 × (2–3.5 + 3.5) mm.; pericarp 2-valved; pseudaril covering 3/4 or the whole of the stone whose sterile locule is markedly humped distally and which has very thick walls.

It is a tropical plant. It can grow in arid places.

The leaves are eaten. They probably contain oxalates that irritate the throat.