Boswellia papyrifera (Del.) Hochst. (family Burseraceae), is one of the key plant species in therndrylands of the Horn of Africa. Unregulated extraction of gums and resins and land use changernare among the main factors that threatened this dry land forest. This plant is a culturally andrnecologically relevant species that is showing symptoms of decline due to anthropogenic factors.rnThe study was done on five populations of B. papyrifera from Metema zone, Northern Ethiopia.rnInter-Simple Sequence Repeat markers (ISSR) were used to estimate genetic diversity amongrnand within five populations of Boswellia papyrifera collected from Zebach Bahir, Das Gundo,rnGubay, Shinfa and Agam Wuha sites. Five selected ISSR primers yielded 39 reproducible bandsrnfrom 64 individuals studied. All the loci were found to be polymorphic. The total geneticrndiversity (GD) and Shannonâ€™s diversity information index (I) for entire populations showedrnfairly high to medium values, 0.42, and 0.60, respectively. The individuals from Zebach Bahirrnsite showed the highest level of gene diversity, 0.42; while the least variability showed by AgamrnWuha populations with 0.25. Analysis of Molecular Variance showed that the within populationsrnvariation was higher (76%) than among population variation (24%). UPGMA analysis revealedrnone major group and two outliers (Gubay and Agam Wuha). This major cluster again forked intorntwo sub-groups, one group containing Das Gundo while the second group contained ZebachrnBahir and Shinfa populations. NJ analysis, based on individuals of Boswellia, showed threerndistinct clusters and two sub-clusters within the second and third major clusters. In 3D, most ofrnAgam wuha and Gubay individuals tended to form their own separate grouping, whilernindividuals from Zebach Bahir, Das Gundo and Shinfa were inter-mixed and formed a separaterngroup from the other populations. Studies were carried out on the phenology, and pollinationrnecology of B. papyrifera. The trees remain leafless during the entire period of flowering andrnfruiting. The inflorescence is a terminal raceme and produces 8-15 bisexual flowers, but it mightrnproduce up to 60 flower buds. Moreover, during maximum flowering period on average 14.5rninflorescences per branch were recorded. Flowers offer nectar and pollen as rewards to floralrnvisitors. The honey bee is found to be the effective and frequent pollinator. Each flower is visitedrnby an average number of 6.35 insect visitors every 15 minutes and, on average, each insectrnvisitor spents 5.8 seconds on a flower. High to moderate level of variation was observed withrnpopulations of Metema, this indicated the needs for urgent conservation attention.rnKey words: Boswellia papyrifera, genetic diversity, ISSR, phenology, pollination ecology