The agarwood tree is also known as Aloeswood, Eaglewood (because the resinous bark sometimes resembles an eagle’s claw), or Lapnisan.

It grows at elevations from a few meters above sea level to about 1000m, with roughly 500m being the most ideal for its growth.

In China, the wood is known as ch’en hsiang, which means the ‘sinking incense wood’. There are nineteen different names across nationalities. The pungent, earthy scent of this wood gave Hong Kong its name, which, in Cantonese, translates as Fragrant Harbour.

But the huge demand for agarwood over the past few decades means Hong Kong’s Aquilaria species teetering on the brink of extinction.

The tree also grows in South Asian in countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Borneo, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Shri Lanka, Cambodia and Bangladesh.

Not all agarwood trees produce the resinous bark which is extracted as incense or distilled to produce the infamous oils. Only sick trees ( about 7 percent in total) produce this.

The resin is produced by a tree which is mauled or wounded or suffers an infection which is caused by a fungus called Phialophora Parastica.

In response to the invasion, the tree releases an antibody which produces the resin. The resin then spreads internally through the bark of the trees to produce the oil.

Growers say a bore insect called Zeuzera conferta also plays a key role in triggering disease and formation of resin in agarwood.

These carpenter moths bore into the tree trunk, causing a wound that then draws microorganisms, bacteria, and fungus spores into the trunk of the tree.

The tree uses its own sap to cover the wounds, which will turn into agarwood after a long time, which is why oud is such a highly priced and prized product.

The aromatic producing species of agarwood is known as Aquilaria malaccensis. Not all agarwood trees produce the aromatic, in fact most do not. About one in ten thousand may produce the resin.

The darker the wood, the more infected the tree is, the more likelihood of resin within the tree.

The oud with the greatest resin is used mostly for incense burning. Oils are produced from less resinous oud barks.

Comments (45)

  1. Simply desire to say your article is as surprising The clearness in your post is simply excellent and i could assume you are an expert on this subject Fine with your permission let me to grab your feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post Thanks a million and please carry on the gratifying work

  2. Hello Neat post Theres an issue together with your site in internet explorer would check this IE still is the marketplace chief and a large element of other folks will leave out your magnificent writing due to this problem

  3. Its like you read my mind You appear to know so much about this like you wrote the book in it or something I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a little bit but other than that this is fantastic blog A great read Ill certainly be back

  4. Usually I do not read article on blogs however I would like to say that this writeup very compelled me to take a look at and do so Your writing taste has been amazed me Thanks quite nice post

  5. I have been browsing online more than three hours today yet I never found any interesting article like yours It is pretty worth enough for me In my view if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did the internet will be a lot more useful than ever before

  6. Fantastic beat I would like to apprentice while you amend your web site how could i subscribe for a blog site The account helped me a acceptable deal I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear concept

  7. Obrigado, há muito tempo que procuro informações sobre este assunto e a sua é a melhor que descobri até agora. Mas e em relação aos resultados financeiros Você tem certeza em relação ao fornecimento

  8. Somebody essentially lend a hand to make significantly posts I might state That is the very first time I frequented your web page and up to now I surprised with the research you made to create this particular put up amazing Excellent job

  9. Noodlemagazine You’re so awesome! I don’t believe I have read a single thing like that before. So great to find someone with some original thoughts on this topic. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality!

  10. Noodlemagazine You’re so awesome! I don’t believe I have read a single thing like that before. So great to find someone with some original thoughts on this topic. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality!

Leave a Reply

Sandton and Lenasia, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2000

+27 82 961 5498

Newsletter

Stay Updated on all that’s new 

Copyright © 2025 Roha Oud. All rights reserved.

Add to cart