gaharu/aquilaria/oud

INTRODUCTION

Aquilaria trees grow in the tropical rainforests of Asia and produce agarwood inside the tree. Old growth trees are rare due to extensive harvesting by collectors of agarwood during past centuries. The genus Aquilaria is best known as the principal producer of the dark brown resin-impregnated agarwood or eaglewood, especially A. crassna, A. malaccensis and A. sinensis. Gaharu is the most expensive wood in the world. The wood is formed as a result of the tree ’s immune response to fungal infection.

Agarwood/gaharu is a resinous wood that sometimes occurs in trees belonging to the Aquilaria genus, Thymelaeceae family. Aquilaria is a fast-growing, archaic tropical forest tree, which occurs in South and Southeast Asia, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. The tree grows in natural forests at an altitude of a few meters above sea level to about 1000 meters, and it grows best around 500 meters. It can grow on a wide range of soils, including poor sandy soil. Seedlings need a lot of shade and water. Trees grow very fast, and start producing flowers and seeds as early as four years old. At least fifteen species of Aquilaria trees are known to produce the much sought-after Agarwood. In South Asia Aquilaria achalloga is found, particularly in India, Aquilaria malaccensis is mostly known from Malaysia and Indonesia, and Aquilaria crassna principally grows in Indochina. A number of other species are known such as Aquilaria grandfolia, Aquilaria chinesis etc.

Seed research

At the same time as plus trees were selected, samples of fruits and seeds were collected and studied. The seed of A. crassna is oval in shape, with a diameter of 0.5-0.8cm. One end of the seed is pointed; the other has a black aril 2-3cm long with a white stripe.

The moisture content of fresh A. crassna seeds is 49%. Desiccation with silica gel to reduce the moisture content to 40%, 35%, 25%, 15% and 8% shows that the seeds can maintain normal germination rates (33%) at a moisture content of 25%. Seeds with varying moisture contents were stored at 8ºC, 15ºC and ambient temperatures (20-25ºC). The optimal conditions were found to be a moisture content of 25% stored at a temperature of 8ºC, which produced a germination rate of 22% after a two-month period of storage.

Value

The value of first-grade Agarwood/gaharu is extremely high. A whole range of qualities and products is on the market varying with geographical location and cultural deposition. Prices range from a few dollars per kilo for the lowest quality to over thirty thousand US dollars for top quality oil and resinous wood. Aquilaria crassna is listed as an endangered species in Viet Nam, and A. malaccensis is listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union, IUCN.

Usage

The “Wood of the Gods” /gaharu has been traded and highly appreciated for thousands of years. Resinous wood is used as incense, for medicinal purposes, and pure resin in distilled form is used as perfume and perfume component. Outside native countries it is most widely known in the Middle East, China, Taiwan and Japan. A strong connection exists between use, religion and curative properties, and elaborate traditional and religious ceremonies are known from around the world. Faith healers in the Middle East use it at curative ceremonies, Japanese pilgrims donate flowers and Agarwood oil to Shinto-Buddhist temples, and Vietnamese religious groups are obliged to bring Agarwood to ceremonies at their temples in Mekong delta communities.


TRANSACTION AND SERVICE

gaharu seedling for sale:

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