Description

Agarwood is an evergreen tree grows up to 49 metres tall. The bole can be up to 60cm in diameter. The aromatic resin obtained from this tree is one of the most famous and most expensive on the planet. It has a very long history of use in religious ceremonies, at funerals etc in the Orient and is widely sought after as an ingredient in perfumery. Aquilaria is a genus of fifteen species of trees, called lign aloes or lign-aloes trees, in the family  Thymelaeaceae , native to southeast Asia.

Characteristics:

Agar wood is a tree up to 40 m tall with an irregular crown. Its smooth trunk has dark to pale grey, peeling outer bark and cream-white inner bark. Its alternate, stalked leaves have thinly leathery leaf blades that are oval-oblong to oblong-lanceshaped, and 6-12 by 1.9-5.5 cm, with fine, parallel veinlets, and long tips. Its fragrant flowers are green or dirty-yellow, 5-6 mm long, and found in shortly-stalked, 2.5 cm-long clusters of up to 10 together. Its green fruits are flattened egg-shaped, rather woody, and 2.5-4 by 2.5 cm. Its pear-shaped seeds are covered with orange-brown hairs, and up to 10 by 6 mm, with one of its ends attached to the fruit by a twisted, stalk-like appendage. Aquilaria malaccensis is the major source of agarwood, a resinous heartwood, used for perfume and incense. Leaves: Simple, penni-veined with wavy horizontal tertiary venation. Flower: Bisexual Type, Axillary and terminal panicles and 5 mm diameter in white-yellow with corolla tube and form in panicles. Fruit: Capsule Type, Size 19 mm and Greenish Color.

Medicinal Uses:

Agarwood benefits in asthma, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis. Its external application improves skin glow, reduces joint inflammation and burning pain, and kills lice and other parasites. It stimulates hair growth, prevents skin diseases, and improves appetite. It is also used for the treatment of intestinal worms, bad breath (halitosis), loss of appetite, and intestinal gas. Moreover, it also provides benefits in cardiac weakness, persistent hiccups, enuresis, chyluria (chylous urine), fever with chills, and diseases of male reproductive system.