Labdanum

In ancient times, labdanum was collected by combing the beards and thighs of goats and sheep that had grazed on the cistus shrubs.

[2] Wooden instruments used were referred to in 19th-century Crete as ergastiri;[3] a lambadistrion ("labdanum-gatherer") was a kind of rake to which a double row of leathern thongs were fixed instead of teeth.

He also argued that the scepter of Osiris, which is usually interpreted as either a flail or a flabellum, was more likely an instrument for collecting labdanum similar to that used in nineteenth-century Crete.

Abrahams,[11] and Rabbi Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon (Saadya), 882–942,[12][13] state that the mysterious שחלת (onycha), an ingredient in the holy incense (ketoret) mentioned in the Torah (Exodus 30: 34), was actually labdanum.

Labdanum's odour is variously described as amber, sweet, woody, powdery, fruity, animalic, ambergris, dry musk, or leathery.