Bdellium is an aromatic gum resin that looks similar to myrrh. It comes from various trees of the Commiphora genus that grow in Africa and western Asia. Most scholars believe the bdellium mentioned in Genesis 2:12 and Numbers 11:7 comes from the Commiphora africana, a shrub that grows naturally in southern Arabia and northeastern Africa. This yellowish, transparent, fragrant resin looks like a pearl.
The Bible describes the manna gathered by the Israelites as having the same color as bdellium (Numbers 11:7). Bdellium is also mentioned along with gold and onyx stone found near the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:12). Because it appeared in this list of valuable items, people once thought bdellium might be pearl or a precious stone.
The Commiphora genus includes the plants that produce myrrh and possibly what the Bible calls "balm." Outside the Bible, an English plant expert described bdellium as an aromatic gum from a tree known in Persia and beyond. The Roman writer Pliny, who lived in the first century AD, also described bdellium as a waxy substance that resembled a pearl.