Agarwood
Definition
Resin-impregnated heartwood produced by Aquilaria and Gyrinops species in response to fungal infection or wounding. Used in incense and perfume (oud oil). All Aquilaria species are listed on CITES Appendix II.
- Producing genera
- Aquilaria and Gyrinops
- Formation trigger
- Fungal infection or wounding of heartwood
- Commercial products
- Incense and oud perfume oil
- CITES status
- All Aquilaria species listed on Appendix II
Common questions
Why does agarwood specifically require CITES documentation to trade legally?+
Appendix II listing means international trade is legal but must be accompanied by export permits confirming the material was not sourced from over-harvested wild populations, since demand for oud has driven heavy illegal logging of wild Aquilaria trees.
How would a forensic examiner distinguish real agarwood from a substitute?+
Genuine resin-impregnated agarwood is identified through microscopic wood anatomy, resin content analysis, and increasingly DNA barcoding, because synthetic oud oils and unrelated woods are commonly passed off as the real product in trade seizures.
Related terms
- DNA Barcoding
- Species identification using a short, standardised region of the mitochondrial genome. For animals, the primary barcode marker is a 648-base-pair segment of...
- matK
- Maturase K gene, located in the chloroplast trnK intron. The second CBOL-approved plant barcode marker, with an approximately 870 bp diagnostic amplicon....
- Metabarcoding
- Sequencing a mixture of DNA from many organisms simultaneously and using bioinformatics to assign each read to a taxon. For plant eDNA,...
- rbcL
- A chloroplast gene encoding the large subunit of RuBisCO (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase). One of the two CBOL-standardized plant barcode loci. Widely amplifiable but...
- TRAFFIC
- The wildlife trade monitoring network, a joint program of WWF and IUCN. Publishes trade data reports on CITES-listed species including detailed plant...