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New botanical species added to CITES Appendix II during 20th Conference of the Parties meeting
December 10, 2025
Commiphora wightii (Source: Vinayaraj, Creative Commons)
The 20th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP20) was recently conducted in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, November 24 – December 5, 2025. Of interest to American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) members are several agenda items related to botanical species that are used in dietary supplements and other natural products. One of these proposals has resulted in a new botanical species being accepted for addition to CITES controls for international trade.
Commiphora wightii
A proposal to list Commiphora wightii (synonym: Commiphora mukul; standard common name: guggul) in CITES Appendix II was accepted by the Parties. While the listing proposal was initially rejected at a committee review, debate was reopened at the final plenary session, and the listing proposal was ultimately adopted. The listing will include the following annotation:
“Extracts (including gums, resins, and essential oils) and powder, except the following finished products packaged and ready for retail trade: finished tablets, capsules, pills, perfumes, cosmetics, solutions, emulsions, or suspensions (such as infused oils, hydrolates, and tinctures), and manufactured incense products (such as incense sticks and incense cones).”
This new listing for Commiphora wightii will become effective 90 days from the date of adoption on December 5, 2025.
Panax quinquefolius
A proposal related to the existing CITES Appendix II listing of Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng) was also on the agenda as brought forth by the U.S. delegation. The proposal sought to amend the current annotation for the American ginseng listing by exempting “finished products packaged and ready for retail trade of roots sliced 1-3 mm thick derived from artificially propagated plants of Panax quinquefolius.”
During its pre-CoP20 review, the CITES Secretariat indicated support for the Panax quinquefolius proposal and provided suggested edits. Canada, which is a range state for this botanical, and several other countries were not supportive of the proposal during committee discussion, noting that the proposed exemption may make it challenging to monitor and enforce trade due to the difficulty in distinguishing between sliced roots that have been cultivated versus taken from the wild. The proposal was not accepted.
Boswellia
While not proposed for listing in the CITES Appendices at CoP20, a set of recommendations on Boswellia trees (Boswellia spp.) was on the CoP20 agenda, as developed by the CITES Plants Committee at its last meeting in July 2024. As this is a non-CITES listed species, continued efforts to assess Boswellia species for potential listing may result in an international meeting to be organized by the relevant range states, rather than the CITES Secretariat. This activity will likely be discussed at the next CITES Plants Committee meeting, expected in 2026.
AHPA has periodically consulted with several AHPA members involved in the international trade of Boswellia serrata materials, and has issued a sustainable harvest brochure for this species.
About the Conference of the Parties
The CITES Conference of the Parties occurs approximately every three years for the purpose of allowing Parties to the CITES Convention to review the implementation of the Convention through the following activities:
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Consider (and where appropriate adopt) proposals to amend the lists of species in Appendices I and II;
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Review progress in the conservation of species included in the CITES Appendices;
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Consider discussion documents and reports from the Parties, the permanent committees, the Secretariat and working groups;
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Recommend measures to improve the effectiveness of the Convention; and
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Make provisions (including the adoption of a budget) necessary to allow the Secretariat to function effectively.
More information about the CITES Cop20 meeting is available on the CITES website and in AHPA's Primer on Importing and Exporting CITES Listed Species.
