Ethiopia's wide climatic and edaphic variability have endowed this country with diverse and unique flowering plants. Its varied ecological and climatic conditions, Ethiopia is home to some of the most diverse flora and fauna in Africa. Its forests and woodlands contain diverse plant species that provide surplus nectar and pollen to foraging bees. The forests, woodlands and cultivated lands also provide as much as 75 to 90 percent of Ethiopia's rural population's requirements for traditional medicine especially medicinal plants for their primary health care. There are a large number of non-wood forest products including ginger, cinnamon, cardamum, etc., the production and consumption of which is not documented.
The gum-yielding species of Ethiopia are confined almost exclusively to low-lying areas, subjected to hot and arid conditions. With the exception of the provinces of Illubabor and Kefa, woodland and shrub forest, with a potential for gum products, is encountered in all provinces and the areas where some sort of gum is, or could be, produced account for about half of the national land surface. Because of present day market importance, the following species appear to play a significant role:
Boswellia papyrifera, yielding frankincense, also called olibanum is found in large amounts in Tigray, Gondar, Wollega and Gojjam provinces and thinly spread in Wello and Shewa. Boswellia ogadensis, yielding a similar produce, is commonly found in Hararghe, Bale and Sidamo, and Gamu Gofa regions.
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