Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

This post is originally meant for Michael Andrew's query about this fascinating plant in another thread. I guess, I am so guilty of thread wreck, I have no heart for it there(at least for now:ha:). So, Michael, here it goes;

Pix of resin formed in the wood after successful inoculation of the tree.

Genus Aquilaria (Thymeleaceae)
For the uninitiated, it is an incense derived from the resin produced by the tree known in many languages which has been used through the ages by many cultures. For those who are aware of it, it rakes superlatives of superlatives…

Its use was recorded in the Old Testament of the biblical times and other cultures throughout the world. Only the best incense was offered to the Gods by those who worshiped them and it was Gaharu from the genus Aquilaria which was chosen.

To the Middle Eastern culture, it is known as Oud, the Japanese, Kyrana, the Thais, Kritsana, the Vietnamese, Tram, the Chinese, Cham Heong, and to the Malaysians and Indonesians, Gaharu, and to the rest of the world, Agarwood or Eaglewood. Where ever the people were around the world and whoever the Gods they worshiped, they gave their very best, they gave only Gaharu, thus it became known as the Wood of the Gods.

Gaharu is a naturally produced resin from the trees of the Aquilaria and Gyrinop families. In the past, people were unaware of how it was produced and they came to the conclusion that such a fine and rare thing can only come through mystical means. It was only recently through intense research that the method to induce the trees to produce it is now known to the world.

There are about 30 species in the genus of Aquilaria found throughout the SEA region. Most of them are found growing below 800 m.a.s.l. For Gyrinop, there are only 7 species.
Aquilaria are mostly found on infertile land and as a result of a lack of nutrient in their system they are susceptible to fungal infestations. It is because of this that a natural resin, gaharu, is formed as a biological defensive reaction

The two main species used in the extraction of the Gaharu resin are Aquilaria malaccensis which is found from Southern Thailand through Malaysia and Indonesia and Aquilaria crassna which is found in the IndoChina region. Of the two, Aquilaria crassna’s resin is the preferred in the scent industry of the major importing region of Middle East.

The Value
The top grade resin commands a price of over USD $ 10,000 per kg in the end user market. Reliable claims by the various entities shows a return of at least $ 300 per matured tree of 5 years. References are easily accessed through the inter net with the key search woods, Agarwood, Gaharu and Aquilaria.

I followed the Orang Asli in northern M'sian forests to see the rate of rate of growth of the Aquilaria malaccensis seedlings as part of the R&D.

Aquilaria are undemanding trees which can grow in infertile soil. They can be grown in areas from 300 -800 feet above sea level. They grow well in areas of high humidity and high rainfall. They are medium sized trees and can achieve a height of 15m – 20m and produce a trunk or bole size between 40cm to 50cm in diameter at breast height. Trees are harvestable from the age of 5 years when hard wood is formed. However, older trees have proven to produce more resin.

The other question is, can Gaharu be synthesized? The answer is a qualified no.
THus, the major components in the characteristic scent of Gaharu products, known as serquiertepenes, is too costly to be reproduced. Making a substitute at a price higher than the original product is totally not economical.

Cultivation of Aquilaria is like a dream come true. Planting it has no hidden cost such as insecticide, fertilizer and labor. Once the sapling is established, it will grow at a steady rate of 1 + m a year. In other species of trees, there is the frequent problem of pests. Aquilaria has a natural chemical which repels insects and as it is undemanding and grows well in infertile soil, it does not need fertilizer.

A pix of me during part of the R&D on the inoculation of Aquilaria crassna at the Thai/Cambodian border. The method used here is the vertical hole drill.

The extraction of the resin has been studied in depth and it is easily done by infecting the matured tree with a concoction of chemicals and a live fursarium culture. Upon the inoculation, the tree is harvested after a period of 1.5 years. Yield per 6 yr old tree will be approx $ 300 per tree with the value double on an older tree of 8 yrs. The method used is by drilling holes spirally or vertically on the entire length of the trunk with the inoculation inserted.

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Uf, I only can imagine fragance. Is it too strong?
:woohoonaner:

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

YSL uses it in their perfume and the Arabs claim that just one application on to their clothes, it can survive at least 4 washes of the garment. So can you imagine it?

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Tog, have you run into the insencewood Bursera over there? (Called Palo Santo here)

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Bursera is not popular and hardly known here. Why?

Gaharu is mainly sold either in its oil or infected wood form. They are also sold as joss sticks but very pricey according to its grade. This is made from the by product of the wood dust after the resin is extracted.

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Curious; it's worth about the same vis a vis resin or extracted essential oil here as Gaharu is on your side of the pond.

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Thanks Tog. That was very interesting. Crazy how nature infects or alters the properties of a tree and either makes the wood worthless or more valuable.

Michael

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Michael, as a result of so called free money from locating the resin in the jungle, many trees were indiscriminately cut down. These included the ones which weren't naturally infected. In the wild only about 1% of the trees are infected and have resin in them. Up till today, we still have foreigners coming into M'sia and doing it. These guys are so organised and expert at what they do, they are literally invisible in the jungle. They will spend months in there and then have their contacts smuggle out the wood chips. Though caught frequently, there's no provision in the law for them to be heavily fined and punished. Those caught may serve a short prison term, pay a light fine, then get deported. After awhile, they are back again!

During the Vietnam war era, the bombing in Laos destroyed many of the Aquilaria crassna. Those which survived the bombing were highly infected with resin due to the effects of from the contusion of the bomb blasts. Kinda weird! :ha:

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Tog, this is fascinating. When you were inoculating the tree in the photo above, were you going into the cambium layer or further into the wood itself?

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Look at that first pic Harvey. I'm just guessing it was an inoculated one because it looks like holes were drilled deep into the wood almost all the way through.

Michael

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Harv, the hole is drilled all the way to the centre of the tree. The idea is to have an big open wound cos in nature, the resin oozes out to block any physical injury. By doing so, maximum resin production is assured. Some methods use hollow plastic piping inserted into the hole to keep it open.

In nature, through time, like 20 years or so, a chunk of resin like coagulated blood is formed trying to block off the open wood. This is known as heart wood. It is so dense that it will sink in water. This gave rise to the Chinese name, Cham Heong which means Sinking Fragrance. This is the highest quality of resin found and big blocks of 100gm or more will cost from $ 20,000 per kg in value. Such is burnt at festivities by the ultra rich middle eastern people as a show of their status. There are also rich people who buy such chunks as collectibles. However, with the commercial method, the resin is only found as stains in the wood as the period allowed for resin formation is short.

Re: Genus Aquilaria - Wood of the Gods
 

Okay, thanks for explaining.

I've seen sick trees sometimes fed with an I.V. system and wondered if you could use something like that to help spread the infection. The bottle of solution is usually hung up higher than the point of insertion and I think that helps keep it open.