Dikenal juga dengan nama tengkaras (Melayu), agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood (Inggris), oud (Arab), chen-xiang (Cina), dan jinkoh (Jepang), spesies aquilaria malaccensis adalah spesies penghasil resin yang banyak terbaik. Spesies ini memiliki distribusi alami di India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, dan Filipina.
Pokok gaharu dapat mencapai ketinggian hingga 20 meter. Kulit pohon gaharu licin dan warnanya hampir putih. Daunnya jenis singkat dan terletak dalam susunan berselang ¬ seli. Daunnya berbentuk memanjang atau mata lembing. Bunga gaharu terletak dalam jambak di ujung atau ruas ranting dan ketiak daun.
Bunganya berwarna apakah warna hijau atau kuning. Buah pohon gaharu berbentuk hampir bulat bola atau memanjang. Pokok gaharu hidup di daerah tanah rendah sehingga ketinggian 750m dari permukaan laut dan membutuhkan distribusi hujan dan kelembaban yang tinggi.
Seluruh bagian gaharu dikatakan mengandung agarafuranoid dan ses kuiterpenoid jenis eudesman, eremofilan, valenkan dan vetispiran. Asap gaharu (dibakar) juga mengandugi kelompok kimia yang sama.
Kayu gaharu pula mengandung bahan agarospiral, dan jinkoholeremol yang menghasilkan aroma gaharu untuk penggunaan parfum. Sedangkan komponen methoxypenylethyl chrome pula menghasilkan bahan yang harum saat gaharu dibakar. Resin memiliki sifat antinkuman, antiseptik, antibiotik, pestisida, dan dikatakan mampu berfungsi menghentikan pendarahan dan mengatasi sakit.
Gaharu yang bernilai tinggi adalah bagian kayunya yang terluka yang telah terinfeksi jamur dan mengandung banyak resin. Kayu yang baik berwarna putih atau kuning, lembut, ringan dan kurang berbau ketika dibakar. Kayu yang terinfeksi jamur menjadi keras, berat, berketul-ketul, berwarna hitam atau coklat kehitam-hitaman dan sangat wangi saat dibakar. Minyak gaharu diperoleh melalui proses penyulingan untuk penghasilan parfum yang sangat mahal.
Gaharu banyak digunakan dalam industri parfum, produk medis, medis Ayurvedic, majelis keagamaan dan sebagainya. Gaharu digunakan sebagai bahan kecantikan sejak berabad yang lalu karena baunya yang eksotik, harum dan mewangi seperti bunga.
Bekalkan antiseptik
Keharumannya dapat digunakan dalam bidang meditasi untuk mengurangi stres. Minyak yang diekstrak dari kayu gaharu dikatakan mampu dijadikan sebagai minyak aromaterapi dan mampu memberi ketenangan dan kedamaian pikiran.
Praktisi medis tradisional menggunakan daun pohon gaharu karena kandungan astringen yang ada di dalam daun tersebut. Daun ini dikatakan mampu membantu mengurangi masalah kulit berminyak dan menghentikan luka berdarah.
Ekstrak daun gaharu juga mampu dijadikan tonik kulit dan ia dikatakan mampu digunakan untuk mengembalikan pigmen terhadap masalah leukorderma atau vitiligo yaitu suatu kondisi ketika wilayah kulit kehilangan pigmennya dan menjadi putih. Antioksidan dalam daun gaharu dikatakan memberikan antiseptik yang lembut dan bisa digunakan untuk merawat masalah infeksi mata, telinga dan luka. Daun yang telah ditumbuk halus dikatakan bisa dibuat obat pupuk pada tangan dan kaki yang bengkak (busung).
Daun gaharu muda pula dikatakan bisa dijadikan sebagai teh dan diminum untuk mampu merangsang tubuh yang lemah jika selalu diminum. Khasiat lainnya adalah daun ini dikatakan mampu membuang racun dalam tubuh, mengurangi tingkat tekanan darah tinggi, diabetes, sakit kepala, asma, memperbaiki fungsi ginjal, saluran dan sirkulasi darah dan oksigen serta meredakan ketegangan dan stres akibat tekanan. Selain itu, ia juga dikatakan mampu membantu mengatasi masalah insomnia atau sulit tidur.
Kayu gaharu dikatakan bisa direbus dan kemudian diminum untuk mengobati mual dan muntah, demam panas, malaria, lumpuh, reumatisme, sakit perut, melancarkan pembuangan air kecil, dan penawar saat ibu hamil dan setelah melahirkan.
Asap wangi dari kayu gaharu yang telah dibakar dikatakan bisa dihirup untuk tujuan mengobati kanker terutama kanker kelenjar tiroid, mengeluarkan angin dalam perut dan usus, mengurangi asma, cirit, sakit perut dan juga sebagai afrodisiak.
Meskipun ada berbagai khasiat gaharu, namun begitu penggunaannya harus mendapat nasihat dari praktisi medis terlebih dahulu untuk menghindari kesalahan pengobatan (accident) di kemudian hari. .
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Introduction Of Agarwood
Introduction to Agarwood
The origin agarwood trees can be traced to the trees of Aquilaria genus found in the evergreen forests of South East Asia. Other than the North Eastern states, they are found in countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Laos, Japan, and so on.
When agarwood trees are damaged either naturally or artificially, fungus enters the tree. As the fungal infection progresses the tree produces a dark aromatic resin in respond to the attack, which results in a very dense, dark, resin embedded heartwood. The resin embedded wood is commonly called Resinous wood or Infected wood The infected part of the tree, after it separation from the tree, and the oil processed from it, is the main source of sweet smelling perfumes and medicines all over the world.
Why does Agarwood cost more than perfume?
Have you ever put on perfume in the morning only to find that the fragrance disappeared or changed by the afternoon? This is because commercial perfumes are mass produced from cheaply manufactured synthetic aroma chemicals, and rarely contain any genuine aromatics. The average $80 bottle of perfume can cost as little as $5 to produce. Are you actually getting what you've paid for?
Oriscent Aloes wood oil is 100% pure, natural, and authentic fragrance essence. Too thick to spray, Aloes wood is a luscious oil that feels like fine velvet when rubbed onto the skin. Oriscent Agarwood does not contain one molecule of synthetic aroma chemicals, and is certifiably the core essential fragrance you are seeking in any perfume. Due to the pure nature of our Oudh, the production rate is more costly.
Oriscent offers a select range of Oudh oils in their purest form. One swipe of our Oudh will keep you emanating a rich, intoxicating aroma all day. Experience our fine line of Oudh, and you will never go back to using commercial perfume again!
How Agarwood Oil is made
Our Agarwood made its journey from distant lands and took many years to
ripen and mature before it funneled into the bottle. Originating from an evergreen tree, agarwood is produced in its trunk to fight off natural occurring bacteria found in the jungles and wild forests of the Far East. As long as the tree grows, the potency of the Oudh also increases. Its intoxicating aroma is a rare and precious substance also known as aloes wood.
The indigenous explorers who discover the Aloes wood trees in the jungle sell the wood to expert distillers, who begin the process of extracting the resin from the agarwood. Oudh oil extraction can be performed through water or steam distillation.
In the case of water extraction, the Oudh wood is immersed in water for three months. Thereafter, the expert distillers place the soaked wood into huge burners called 'stills' where the water evaporates. They cook the wood for many hours until the Agarwood resin dissolves and oil floats to the top. This is known as the Indian distillation method.
Steam extraction entails that they take the aloes wood chips and place them in a steam distillation unit. The great pressure of the steam forces the resin out of the agarwood and the Oudh oil drips into a funnel. This method is more commonly used in the East Asian countries.
Once the oil has been distilled, collected, and bottled it is then sold to specialized distributors in the region. This is generic Oudh oil, which is commonly found in the world market.
Oriscent Oudh is specially produced by the most highly qualified distilleries in the Far East. Our unique distillation techniques and rigid standards of purity ensure that the Agarwood oil you get from us surpasses by far the generic qualities you can find in the common market. For one, we ensure that incense quality raw agarwood is used in the production of our agar wood oils. Too expensive for common distributors to implement, this is common practice at Oriscent, where the quality of our agarwood oils rivals the qualities of Oudh produced even for the royal families of the Gulf and the Far East.
Harvest Of Agarwood / Production Of Agarwood
Factors such as the age of the tree or the size of the tree trunk cannot decide the harvest time of commercially grown agarwood. Agarwood trees can be harvested only when the production of the aromatic trunk is complete and the tree starts drying up. Generally, when agarwood is grown as a commercial crop, harvesting has to be done at a specified time for certain trees, making it a constant operation.
On an average, if the commercially grown agarwood trees catch fungal infection when they are 5-6 years old, then there are ready for harvest around their 10th years. Going by this timeframe, returns from agarwood trees can be expected 8-10 years after they are planted.
In rainforest areas, many varieties of fungi and bacteria float about. When agarwood trees are damaged either naturally or artificially, fungus enters the tree. As the fungal infection progresses, the tree produces a dark aromatic resin in response to the attack, which results in a very dense, dark, resin embedded heartwood. Here, fungi only spreads primary infection and does not multiply or attack the entire tree. Let’s see how agar develops.
When the agarwood tree is about seven years old, the trunk of the tree is attacked by fungi through naturally formed holes. The fungi that enter the tree trunk thus are of different varieties – Ascomycetes, Deuteromycetes, Aspergillus, Botryodiplodia, Diplodia – and they sometimes move in a zig zag fashion. As these fungi go about injuring the inside of the tree trunk, the tree offers resistance to it and brings the development of fungi to a standstill. Because of these chemical reactions inside the tree trunk, a white, milky substance called oleoresin is produced. Finally, a large quantity of dark brown agarwood is produced on the tree trunk.
About 3-6 years are needed for the production of resin wood from the tree that undergoes primary infection. This production is dependent on a number of factors including the quantity of oleoresin produced, its density, primary fungal infection area, etc.
Once the production of aromatic trunk or agarwood is complete, the tree slowly starts drying up, signaling its readiness to be harvested. In conclusion, it can be said that resin wood or agarwood is the result of the working of oleoresin and tiny living organisms. The resinous or infected part of the tree will be heavier than the other parts of the tree.
Agarwood Oil Processing
Agar oil is processed from the select chips and powders through distillation with the use of both traditional and modern techniques. Oil is sometimes processed from young trees too. This oil is available as Agar Essential Oil, Agar Attar, Agar Oil and etc.
Big companies that import oil do so only after stringent quality checks. Since there is no synthetic alternative available for agar oil, the demand for natural agar oil will always be high.
Apart from the block or blocks resin agarwood, agarwood oil is another main product agarwood wood. Agarwood pieces not only resin (Content its resin 20% and below) are processed to obtain oil. Agarwood dust that occurred after the distillation process is another product agarwood industry.
Artificial Inoculation
Though a particular breed of agarwood is selected on the basis of its colour, fragrance and harvest time, fungal infection can be expected only in about 40% of the trees. However, artificial fungal inoculation facility is now available, making all the trees yield agarwood.
In commercial agarwood cultivation, it has now become possible to yield agarwood even from 5-6 year old (sometimes even younger) trees by drilling artificial holes in their trunks and infecting them with fungi collected from old agarwood trees. Since it has been established now that this is a profitable operation, many organizations have been doing this by acquiring international patents.
The process of fungal inoculation
About 1-10 cm deep holes are drilled up to the xylem of agarwood trees in specified spots and their trunks are injured. Holes are dug in such a manner that there is enough space for air circulation. Though the size of the holes is immaterial, care should be taken to see that the injury spreads and the holes don’t get covered. Pipes made out of Plastic or Natural material can be inserted into these holes to ensure that they remain open. On an average, about 40 – 90 holes are drilled on one tree trunk, at a distance of 5 cm from one another. Once the spread of injury is ascertained, fungi should be released into the tree trunk, forcing the tree to start resin production. Either the fungi collected from old agarwood trees are collected and released into experimental plants or processed difco yeast, sodium bisulfite, ferric chloride, etc., are introduced in place of natural fungi.
Depending on their breed, agarwood can be obtained from 3 – 80-year-old-trees by the process of fungal inoculation. Trees start yielding agarwood 18 – 21 months after the infection has begun. However, many other factors only play a major role in determining the yield of the plant.
Estimate international market grade & rate/kg
Importing nations
Leading importers of agarwood are Canada, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, USA, Pakistan, Israel, UAE and European nations. Taiwan has imported about 68,430,514 kg agarwood from 1994-2003. In the later years, the export and import of agarwood has considerably reduced, while the demand has increased.
Agarwood’s names in various countries
Agarwood is known by different names in different countries, in accordance with the language, cultural and religious practices of a country.
China: Chen-xiang/ hsiang, meaning sinking in water.
Vietnam: Tram huong, meaning sinking in water.
Japan: Jin-koh.
Arab countries: Oodh, since wood is pronounced in Arabia as oudh.
Europe: Eagle Wood and Aloes Wood from the Latin word aguila, meaning eagle.
Tibet: Agaru.
Laos: Mai ketsana.
In the global markets, it is popularly known as agarwood, gaharu and oodh.
( taken from http://www.epicpalms.com)
The origin agarwood trees can be traced to the trees of Aquilaria genus found in the evergreen forests of South East Asia. Other than the North Eastern states, they are found in countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Laos, Japan, and so on.
When agarwood trees are damaged either naturally or artificially, fungus enters the tree. As the fungal infection progresses the tree produces a dark aromatic resin in respond to the attack, which results in a very dense, dark, resin embedded heartwood. The resin embedded wood is commonly called Resinous wood or Infected wood The infected part of the tree, after it separation from the tree, and the oil processed from it, is the main source of sweet smelling perfumes and medicines all over the world.
Why does Agarwood cost more than perfume?
Have you ever put on perfume in the morning only to find that the fragrance disappeared or changed by the afternoon? This is because commercial perfumes are mass produced from cheaply manufactured synthetic aroma chemicals, and rarely contain any genuine aromatics. The average $80 bottle of perfume can cost as little as $5 to produce. Are you actually getting what you've paid for?
Oriscent Aloes wood oil is 100% pure, natural, and authentic fragrance essence. Too thick to spray, Aloes wood is a luscious oil that feels like fine velvet when rubbed onto the skin. Oriscent Agarwood does not contain one molecule of synthetic aroma chemicals, and is certifiably the core essential fragrance you are seeking in any perfume. Due to the pure nature of our Oudh, the production rate is more costly.
Oriscent offers a select range of Oudh oils in their purest form. One swipe of our Oudh will keep you emanating a rich, intoxicating aroma all day. Experience our fine line of Oudh, and you will never go back to using commercial perfume again!
How Agarwood Oil is made
Our Agarwood made its journey from distant lands and took many years to
ripen and mature before it funneled into the bottle. Originating from an evergreen tree, agarwood is produced in its trunk to fight off natural occurring bacteria found in the jungles and wild forests of the Far East. As long as the tree grows, the potency of the Oudh also increases. Its intoxicating aroma is a rare and precious substance also known as aloes wood.
The indigenous explorers who discover the Aloes wood trees in the jungle sell the wood to expert distillers, who begin the process of extracting the resin from the agarwood. Oudh oil extraction can be performed through water or steam distillation.
In the case of water extraction, the Oudh wood is immersed in water for three months. Thereafter, the expert distillers place the soaked wood into huge burners called 'stills' where the water evaporates. They cook the wood for many hours until the Agarwood resin dissolves and oil floats to the top. This is known as the Indian distillation method.
Steam extraction entails that they take the aloes wood chips and place them in a steam distillation unit. The great pressure of the steam forces the resin out of the agarwood and the Oudh oil drips into a funnel. This method is more commonly used in the East Asian countries.
Once the oil has been distilled, collected, and bottled it is then sold to specialized distributors in the region. This is generic Oudh oil, which is commonly found in the world market.
Oriscent Oudh is specially produced by the most highly qualified distilleries in the Far East. Our unique distillation techniques and rigid standards of purity ensure that the Agarwood oil you get from us surpasses by far the generic qualities you can find in the common market. For one, we ensure that incense quality raw agarwood is used in the production of our agar wood oils. Too expensive for common distributors to implement, this is common practice at Oriscent, where the quality of our agarwood oils rivals the qualities of Oudh produced even for the royal families of the Gulf and the Far East.
Harvest Of Agarwood / Production Of Agarwood
Factors such as the age of the tree or the size of the tree trunk cannot decide the harvest time of commercially grown agarwood. Agarwood trees can be harvested only when the production of the aromatic trunk is complete and the tree starts drying up. Generally, when agarwood is grown as a commercial crop, harvesting has to be done at a specified time for certain trees, making it a constant operation.
On an average, if the commercially grown agarwood trees catch fungal infection when they are 5-6 years old, then there are ready for harvest around their 10th years. Going by this timeframe, returns from agarwood trees can be expected 8-10 years after they are planted.
In rainforest areas, many varieties of fungi and bacteria float about. When agarwood trees are damaged either naturally or artificially, fungus enters the tree. As the fungal infection progresses, the tree produces a dark aromatic resin in response to the attack, which results in a very dense, dark, resin embedded heartwood. Here, fungi only spreads primary infection and does not multiply or attack the entire tree. Let’s see how agar develops.
When the agarwood tree is about seven years old, the trunk of the tree is attacked by fungi through naturally formed holes. The fungi that enter the tree trunk thus are of different varieties – Ascomycetes, Deuteromycetes, Aspergillus, Botryodiplodia, Diplodia – and they sometimes move in a zig zag fashion. As these fungi go about injuring the inside of the tree trunk, the tree offers resistance to it and brings the development of fungi to a standstill. Because of these chemical reactions inside the tree trunk, a white, milky substance called oleoresin is produced. Finally, a large quantity of dark brown agarwood is produced on the tree trunk.
About 3-6 years are needed for the production of resin wood from the tree that undergoes primary infection. This production is dependent on a number of factors including the quantity of oleoresin produced, its density, primary fungal infection area, etc.
Once the production of aromatic trunk or agarwood is complete, the tree slowly starts drying up, signaling its readiness to be harvested. In conclusion, it can be said that resin wood or agarwood is the result of the working of oleoresin and tiny living organisms. The resinous or infected part of the tree will be heavier than the other parts of the tree.
Agarwood Oil Processing
Agar oil is processed from the select chips and powders through distillation with the use of both traditional and modern techniques. Oil is sometimes processed from young trees too. This oil is available as Agar Essential Oil, Agar Attar, Agar Oil and etc.
Big companies that import oil do so only after stringent quality checks. Since there is no synthetic alternative available for agar oil, the demand for natural agar oil will always be high.
Apart from the block or blocks resin agarwood, agarwood oil is another main product agarwood wood. Agarwood pieces not only resin (Content its resin 20% and below) are processed to obtain oil. Agarwood dust that occurred after the distillation process is another product agarwood industry.
Artificial Inoculation
Though a particular breed of agarwood is selected on the basis of its colour, fragrance and harvest time, fungal infection can be expected only in about 40% of the trees. However, artificial fungal inoculation facility is now available, making all the trees yield agarwood.
In commercial agarwood cultivation, it has now become possible to yield agarwood even from 5-6 year old (sometimes even younger) trees by drilling artificial holes in their trunks and infecting them with fungi collected from old agarwood trees. Since it has been established now that this is a profitable operation, many organizations have been doing this by acquiring international patents.
The process of fungal inoculation
About 1-10 cm deep holes are drilled up to the xylem of agarwood trees in specified spots and their trunks are injured. Holes are dug in such a manner that there is enough space for air circulation. Though the size of the holes is immaterial, care should be taken to see that the injury spreads and the holes don’t get covered. Pipes made out of Plastic or Natural material can be inserted into these holes to ensure that they remain open. On an average, about 40 – 90 holes are drilled on one tree trunk, at a distance of 5 cm from one another. Once the spread of injury is ascertained, fungi should be released into the tree trunk, forcing the tree to start resin production. Either the fungi collected from old agarwood trees are collected and released into experimental plants or processed difco yeast, sodium bisulfite, ferric chloride, etc., are introduced in place of natural fungi.
Depending on their breed, agarwood can be obtained from 3 – 80-year-old-trees by the process of fungal inoculation. Trees start yielding agarwood 18 – 21 months after the infection has begun. However, many other factors only play a major role in determining the yield of the plant.
Estimate international market grade & rate/kg
| Grade | Wood quality | Rate/kg (in MYR) |
| Super ‘A’ | Deep black, heavy and high resin | 5,000 & Above |
| Super ‘B’ | Black, heavy and medium resin | 2,000 - 3,500 |
| Super ‘C’ | Attractive black, heavy and medium resin | 1,250 - 1,800 |
| Quality D | Light black, medium weight, less resin | 600-780 |
| Quality E | Dark brown, less resin | 155-233 |
| Quality F | Damaged in Super ‘A’ & ‘B’ | 93-155 |
| Quality G | Damaged in Super ‘C’ & ‘Sabak’ | 62-93 |
| Quality H | Brownish yellow, light and less resin | 31-46 |
Importing nations
Leading importers of agarwood are Canada, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, USA, Pakistan, Israel, UAE and European nations. Taiwan has imported about 68,430,514 kg agarwood from 1994-2003. In the later years, the export and import of agarwood has considerably reduced, while the demand has increased.
Agarwood’s names in various countries
Agarwood is known by different names in different countries, in accordance with the language, cultural and religious practices of a country.
China: Chen-xiang/ hsiang, meaning sinking in water.
Vietnam: Tram huong, meaning sinking in water.
Japan: Jin-koh.
Arab countries: Oodh, since wood is pronounced in Arabia as oudh.
Europe: Eagle Wood and Aloes Wood from the Latin word aguila, meaning eagle.
Tibet: Agaru.
Laos: Mai ketsana.
In the global markets, it is popularly known as agarwood, gaharu and oodh.
( taken from http://www.epicpalms.com)
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Laos : Agarwood , Is It Endangered ?
 |  |  Early Agarwood Distillation - Northern Laos - February 2004  Scenery on the road to Vang Vieng from Luang Prabang  Main Street of the Agarwood World - a rural Lao village  New wood arrives at still  A new road near Udomxai  Straight from the still - hard oil  Transportation to rural Laos  Insect infected wood  Nursery in An-Giang Province, Vietnam |
Eighty percent of the population lives in the countryside, hunting and fishing. Most people prefer wild game to domesticated meat. The pace of life is slow and relaxed - in the cities of Luang Prabang and Vientaine, in the evenings, it seems the entire population sits overlooking the Mekong, drinking BeerLao and chatting, or playing badminton in the warm rosy dusk. There are no tall buildings, few cars, and seemingly, not too many laws.
Agarwood trees grow abundantly in Laos; they are found all over southeast Asia, with the highest quality of wood from the former countries of Indochina: Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. This area, Vietnam in particular, has several experimental stations working on tree infecting, and some Aquilaria plantations. Agarwood, and its oil, oud, are products of infected wood from species of several genera of tree: The most common being Aquilaria and Gyrinops. However, as Aquilaria is the tree found in Laos, it is the tree I will speak about. Of the 11 species of Aquilaria, it is thought perhaps 4-6 of them can produce the highly sought aromatic resin. And of these, Aquilaria crassna is the species native to Laos. This information is open to debate, as there are not many Latin-speaking botanists roaming the Lao jungle (in fact I think there is only one!) and it is possible that Aquilaria crassna is not the only resin-producing tree. The local people have other names, in Lao "mai" means "wood" and so mai-keydsanah means, simply, agarwood.
Agarwood resin forms in response to a still somewhat mysterious set of factors. In the past, it was thought to be an insect infestation. Recent experiments involve deliberate wounding of the tree, injecting it with an irritating substance, and preventing it from healing naturally. This is somewhat effective, producing some infected wood, but has not been so successful with oil as an oil produced from young and farmed trees is lower quality, hard and "greasy." The best agarwood, when an entire tree is infected with high quality, dense resin and oil, can occur only with plenty of time, and preferably in the forest or other non-contrived setting. This tree will also be dead or dying and sometimes partly buried. Agarwood resin can riddle a tree throughout its heartwood, and when there is a lot of resin, the pieces are individually cleaned and sold as chips, in various grades. Lesser quality wood, whitish in color, and containing less resin and essential oil is also used: graded, chopped, chopped finer, shredded, soaked, distilled, redistilled, removed and dried, and rolled into incense sticks. Uninfected wood has no aromatic use.
How many trees are under cultivation?
Ajmal perfumes estimates that there are 55 million trees planted in Assam, in anticipation of the worldwide shortage. Many of these were planted over 20 years ago. There is a nice plantation of 1.5 million on the Lao plain north of Vientaine, planted in 2000/2001 and now set to become a fishing resort for secondary income. These are mostly, if not all, Aquilaria crassna.There are 2 million Aquilaria trees planted near Bangkok, and more all over Thailand. One can also find in plenty of trees in Vietnam at the fragrant mountain experimental station in An Giang, not to mention other plantations. Those trees are Aquilaria crassna. And it seems everyone's planting them at home, in their yard.All over Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam at least, these trees grow. The world of agarwood does not exist in a separate universe where people have no concept of nature's limits. In fact, many people have noticed the incredibly high prices agarwood commands and are taking steps to integrate themselves in the future market. This is not an unusual concept. Far from the opinion I had some years ago when I thought the small plantation I would start in Hawaii would be the lone guardian against extinction - I now see that I was only one of many with this same idea. It seems a bit paternalistic to assume that without western guidance other cultures will simply take and take until there is no more (like us!) and that we have the obligation to appoint ourselves guardian and keeper. Somehow the people of Southeast Asia have managed to figure out that if they plant trees with an eye to the future, that investment will pay off, even if farmed trees produce low quality hard oil. In 5 years this hard oil, today considered an unacceptable low quality to the main Arab market, will become the agarwood oil standard. And in 5 years it's also possible that the oil quality itself will have improved
Slash and Burn Clearly with all these plantations, Aquilaria crassna is not headed for extinction in the immediate future. The question remains though: what about the wild? Proportionally there may be plenty of agarwood seedlings growing in the forest, but there is definitely less forest. Is agarwood endangered or is the wild itself endangered? Laos' forests are disappearing rapidly, and the main culprit is slash and burn. Destroy the forest and plant some rice. Or teak. Chain saws are illegal in Laos. A more potent and democratic weapon is fire. Fires burn almost constantly throughout the remnants of the Lao forest. By the late dry season, in March and April, the haze reaches a critical point, effectively blotting out the sun, irritating the eyes and lungs. The smoky haze is visible from your airplane seat. Relief is only given by the rains, which begin in late April. They not only put out the fires, but bring airborne particles down to earth, freshening the air. Once the vegetation is ashes and the land charred, clearing and planting becomes easier. Many of these slash and burn agriculturalists are sustenance farmers, growing what they need to live and a little extra to trade. Usually Agarwood has long since been harvested from most of these slash and burn areas but this is not always the case. There are quite a few stories of fantastic smelling fires, when it seemed as though forest spirits themselves were showering blessings on those fortunate enough to be near, with wild, gorgeous, intoxicating smoke.
And so the forests disappear, to be replaced by rice paddies, teak farms and agarwood plantations.
Most of Laos is remote - traversed by footpaths, steep jungle mountains. As I write this, in early 2004, there are a couple of small roads in the interior. Once these roads are built, logs can be removed. But without the roads, and sometimes even after they are built, felled trees linger on hillsides, superfluous, while the underbrush crackles in fire. But logging is important to note - prepaid contracts with Japanese and Chinese companies still have years left to run. There is a large export market for Lao timber, and what can be taken out, is. But most often the logs lie undisturbed on the mountainsides, waiting for transport that never comes. The rivers are not usually a transportation option either, due to cataracts, low dry season water levels and the narrow size of most tributaries.
The Lao Harvest So we have slash and burn, and we have logging contracts to be fulfilled. Where does agarwood fit in with this? Take some gatherers, a small group of Lao, a larger group of foreigners, perhaps 30 Vietnamese "grasshoppers" who move through the forest voraciously, eating everything in sight. These gatherers will support themselves, hunting and fishing while they cut agarwood trees, and this can do some damage. Just how many of these gatherers are there? Larger scale gathering began about 10 years ago, when the Lao government started issuing permits to Lao, and not just to the Vietnamese army and friends of the Lao government. An estimate of the Lao harvest is between 600-1000 tons a year, but this number is not verifiable. A good judge of this amount is the stills. One can get an idea of the quantities taken from the forest by the amount of wood that comes to the still. Distillation quality wood will make its way to local stills, not distant ones. There is a total ban on the removal of unprocessed wood from Laos. And there is also the more practical question of how to smuggle it out? If you can walk it to a waiting truck, then you walk it to a still. The oil yield is simply not high enough, even in the best-case scenario, with well-made, modern stills, to justify driving a truckload of wood to another country, even if it were legal. Any money made would probably just cover your petrol costs. Very high quality wood can be smuggled out; but in small amounts as it's just not common enough to remove by the truckload.
This is hard work, this agarwood harvesting. Time spent in the northern forest before reaching a suitable tree can be many days. For someone to spend perhaps a month in the jungle, away from family, moving slowly through difficult terrain, up rugged mountains, down slippery hillsides, surviving from the forest's bounty, looking for appropriate trees, cutting them when located, then chopping into manageable chips, then carrying it out, 40, 50, 60 kilos perhaps, taking it to a buyer, to a still, walking it there. Then it's examined and bought for how much? Starting less than $1/kilo, this is not a great and lucrative living. The forest is large. And there are not millions of agarwood harvesters. Agarwood harvesting is an occasional, supplemental activity by local people and is widely seen as being illegal.
The IUCN red list The IUCN red list included Aquilaria in 1998. The threat is spelled out thus: "Exploitation of the diseased wood for the perfume industry has resulted in population declines exceeding 80% over recent year. There is a strong indication that the same losses are occurring in the rest of Indo-China." (His survey was made in Vietnam.)
I wonder about this survey for a couple of reasons. First, it was made in Vietnam, I don't know where. What is the strong indication that the "same losses" are occurring in the rest of Indochina? Vietnam is a densely populated (55 million) rapidly industrializing country with coastal access its entire length and consisting of low wetlands in the Mekong delta area, with scattered hilly and mountainous regions sandwiched between the coast and Laos. The Vietnamese have a long history of animal husbandry and intensive agriculture. Laos has a low population density, no history of animal husbandry and little (comparatively) agriculture. Laos is more rural, more forest, less developed and has no seacoast. And if its only "diseased" wood being exploited, then why would that be detrimental anyway as this wood is dying and will not regenerate in any case? In short, Vietnam has a good transportation network; Lao PDR does not.
There simply has not and will never be enough study for these organizations. If an obsessed botanist has to rely on someone in the business end to organize a forest survey, if even he hasn't been able to complete a forest survey in all the years that he's lived in Laos, working exclusively on this project and speaking fluent Lao, then what chance does an outsider have? The only way to see anything is to be connected with the trade, and of course to care about agarwood in a deep, primal, obsessive way, not in a dispassionate one, however earnest and well-meaning.
According to the recent press release from James Compton, the South East Asian director for TRAFFIC, (a joint program of the WWF and IUCN-The World Conservation Union. It works closely with CITES): "As the global trade involves issues of economic, cultural and medicinal benefits, in addition to the management of the tree species, TRAFFIC is extremely supportive of efforts to bring producers and consumers together to ensure that the trade continues," Compton continued. "It is important to remember that CITES Appendix II is not a trade ban, but a management intervention that will help ensure legality, promote sustainability and enable more accurate monitoring of the agarwood trade."
This new classification for all species of Aquilaria reflects its vulnerability in the wild, certainly, but accepts and acknowledges agarwood's place in the cultural, religious, medical and esthetic needs of the world. The world and her resources are not so black and white as might be convenient.
Not a trade ban.
Calling for a total ban on the use of all wood derived essential oils, agarwood in particular, is not necessary. Appreciation of agarwood, and its use throughout the world, is a positive thing, as it's probably one of the only natural substances to really enjoy universal respect. How many other gifts from the earth are revered and adored so? There is still no mass production of agarwood.
Even though there is "little evidence of any range state instituting a management system specifically for agarwood producing species" it seems that this might not be as necessary as once thought, with so many private individuals and companies starting to grow trees. TRAFFIC correctly points out that a common characteristic for all agarwood range states is "shrinking habitat - human encroachment and land conversion impacting wild populations." They also cite the bigger time investment, larger effort to find agarwood in the forest, and increasing extraction from protected areas. It's important to remember that CITES Appendix II listing is not a ban on trade.
TRAFFIC has suggested in the past that all trade should be subject to the issuance of permits form the CITES bureaucracy. TRAFFIC also suggested that this trade should be backed up by "CITES non-detriment finding procedures to scientifically assess whether exports will have no negative effects on wild populations." It's unclear if they are still actively pursuing these policies following the updated classification.
Personally, I wonder about the wisdom about placing the whole of anything in the hands of a single entity, be it governmental or purely bureaucratic. What methods would CITES use to ensure this assessment, besides "scientific" ones? While I agree that long-term management needs to non-detrimental, I am not so confident of CITES ability to oversee this.
For all the talk about making sure the local people, the guardians of the land so to speak, benefit from any trade in natural resources, regulations imposed from outside is at odds with this idea, despite the stated benevolence of the outside authority. And how would CITES "foster consumer-producer links, including middlemen, to promote stewardship and management strategies?" As it is, the people involved in trade are the ones who are in the loop, not the organizations. "Positive Incentives for Good Management" is a fine slogan, but where will these positive incentives come from? Do CITES and other bureaucracies have the wherewithal to offer "positive incentives?" What better incentive could there be than agarwood itself?
Perhaps this is why TRAFFIC has seen some success with their regulatory efforts - they have managed to work within local communities, especially in Papua New Guinea, with their emphasis more on helping local people create a framework to better manage their local resources than imposing an alien order from above.
Today we have all species of agarwood, both Aquilaria and Gyrinops, listed in CITES appendix II, which is supposed to regulate and monitor the trade, so as to help it continue; Once again, it's not a trade ban. I think this is excellent. The previous habit of classifying by species (crassna, malaccensis, sinensis, etc,) is no longer active, as it was impossible to enforce. The trade is mostly in woodchips and oil and positive species identification is not possible.
In conclusion, the world of agarwood is not a world of easy, pat answers. For every seemingly conclusive piece of data flagged, others will pop up to challenge it. Are our forests burning? Are we destroying our world? Yes, and yes. Should agarwood be monitored, and protected? Yes, and yes. Can we still incorporate this lovely tree, this exquisite oil, this divine perfume, into our lives? Yes, oh yes.
(Copied from Trygve Harris trygve@enfleurage.com)
Monday, January 2, 2012
Aquilaria Sinensis
Description
Aquilaria sinensis belongs to the plant family Thymelaeaceae. It is an evergreen tree, 6 to 20 m tall. The smooth bark is grayish to dark grey, and the wood is white to yellowish – so giving it another Chinese name “Pak Muk Heung” (White Wood Incense). Its branchlets are sparsely covered with hairs when young. Its leaves are alternate, leathery, obovate to elliptic, generally 5 to 11 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide, with 15 to 20 pairs of inconspicuous and nearly parallel lateral veins which is a helpful diagnostic feature in the field. The apex of each leaf is short acuminate and the base is broadly cuneate, with entire and smooth margins. Its flowers are yellowish green, fragrant, in a terminal or axillary umbel. The fruit is a woody obovoid capsule with an outer covering of short grey hairs, 2.5 to 3 cm long, opening in two flat valves when ripen. When the fruit is open, a silky thread from the base of the fruit holds the single seed (or two) in the air.
Traditional uses
The tree produces a valuable fragrant wood used for incense and medicine. Previously, the wood was used to make joss sticks and incense, but in Hong Kong this industry has died out.The balm (resin) produced and accumulated from the wood is used as a valuable Chinese medicine called “Chen Xiang” (沉香). According to Chinese medicinal literature, the resin can be extracted in large quantities by natural fungal infection or by external wounding (up to 5 cm into the bark). Sustainable harvesting of the resin of one tree can be induced by opening a wound 3 to 4 cm into the bark, and with the resin collected a few years later after accumulation. Or a small quantity of resin can be extracted from wood blocks by heating or burning, so that the resin liquefies and seeps from the wood blocks. Sections of trees trunks or branches that contain patches of fragrant, resinous wood enter into the trade under the name “agarwood”. The resin is probably produced by the plant as a reaction against fungal infection or external wounding. Resin impregnated fragrant wood is usually found in trees older than 20 years. Although not all trees are infected, with increasing harvest pressure, harvesters in some regions often fell trees indiscriminately in search of infected wood. Good quality “Chen Xiang”, derived mostly from a related species Aquilaria malaccensis, was formerly imported from the Asian tropics into China but the supply of such quality products is now depleted. The resin produced by Aquilaria sinensis has been used as a substitute to the former and thus also under threats
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| Aquilaria Sinensis fruits |
(Taken From http://en.wikipedia.org)
Aquilaria Hirta, Species gaharu Terbaik ?
Asyik-asyik browsing a. hirta, saya menemukan artikel menarik dari http://gaharucandanku.blogspot.com, sebuah blog berbahasa melayu malaysia sebagai berikut :
Aquilaria hirta (Candan)
Aquilaria hirta (Candan) merupakan spesies gaharu terbaik. Ia merupakan spesies pohon / pohon gaharu yang tumbuh dikepulauan melayu khususnya Malaysia dan Indonesia. Ia menghasilkan gaharu / resin yang lebih bermutu dan jauh lebih mahal dari aquilaria malaccencis. Ini semakin sulit diperoleh karena tumbuh di tempat tempat tertentu saja dan tidak seperti aquilaria malaccencis yang tidak sesukar Candan untuk ditemukan. Ukuran batang pohon Candan adalah lebih kecil dibandingkan aquilaria malaccensis. Saya menemukan di mana-mana di jakarta untuk mencari pohon / pohon Candan ini dan setelah berbulan bulan mencarinya, Alhamdulillah akhirnya pada julai 2009 saya menemukan orang asli di Daerah Rompin, Pahang untuk untuk membantu saya mendapatkan anak pohon Candan ini. Daun pohon Candan ini adalah berbulu dibagian bawahnya dan bentuk daunnya adalah lebih lebar dibandingkan aquilaria malaccencis. Menurut sahabat saya orang asli tersebut yang lebih ramah disebut Abang Wahab, ada 3 jenis Candan yang diketahuinya yaitu Candan padi, Candan gajah dan Candan gunung. Dari segi penjagaannya anak pohon Candan adalah mudah ditanam seperti anak pohon gaharu yang lain seperti aquilaria subintegra, aquilaria crassna dan aquilaria malaccencis Pokok Candan ini cepat merespon panas cuaca sekitarnya. Berdasarkan pengalaman saya dalam menjaga anak pohon Candan ini, tanah dalam polibeg harus selalu basah dan diletakkan ditempat yang redup untuk awal sebaik diambil dari hutan untuk membantu pertumbuhannya dengan lebih baik. Penanaman anak pohon Candan sebaiknya ditanam sore untuk menghindari anak pohon Candan dari luka bakar dan sebaiknya ditanam dalam di musim hujan untuk penggemar Candan gajah yang ingin menanam tetapi tidak dapat berkonsentrasi penuh waktu terhadap pohon Candan ini lantaran kesibukan kerja. Meskipun begitu menanam pohon Candan (aquilaria hirta) ini adalah sangat berbaloi karena harga yang jauh lebih tinggi dari gaharu malaccencis karena adalah spesies terbaik gaharu. Dihikayatkan bahwa Nabi Adam Alaihissalam hanya diizinkan membawa sepotong dahan pohon gaharu dari surga ketika beliau dilemparkan ke dunia dan dahan pohon gaharu kemungkinan besarnya adalah spesies aquilaria hirta (Candan) spesies gaharu terbaik. Siapa yang berminat mendapatkan anak pohon Candan bisa hubungi saya. Harga adalah RM15.00 saja sepokok. Tinggi adalah 1.5 kaki keatas ..
Sebelumnya saya telah berurusan dengan orang asli di Kuala Lipis untuk mendapatkan Candan gunung. Masih belum rezeki saya lagi mendapat Candan gunung. Menurut sahabat orang asli saya yang lebih nyaman dipanggil Sena, untuk pergi ke tempat yang ada pohon Candan gunung itupun sungguh sulit dan payah. Menurutnya, Candan gunung hanya ada di perbatasan Jakarta, Jakarta dan Banten dan juga ada sedikit di Cameron Highland. Sena pun terkejut saat saya menanyakan pohon Candan dan meluahkan rasa hairannya macamana orang melayu seperti saya pun tahu keberadaan pohon Candan gunung. Pokok Candan gunung ini tumbuh dilereng gunung dan sangat perlu berhati hati untuk mendapatkannya. Tentang yang mengagumkan saya tentang pohon Candan gunung ini adalah saat Sena menceritakan bahwa jika ada pohon Candan gunung disekitar itu berarti pohon gaharu tidak tumbuh disekitarnya dalam jarak 15km. Berarti jika ada ditemukan pohon gaharu, pasti Candan gunung tidak ada di daerah dekat. Diceritakannya lagi tanda tanda adanya pohon Candan gunung itu adalah antaranya bisa ditemukan pohon buluh perindu di sekitarnya, berarti pasti ada binatang buas disitu dan hal ini agak menyeramkan Sena. Untuk tujuan mengambil anak pohon saja saya diberitahu Sena terpaksa bermalam dihutan selama 3 malam untuk mengambilnya dan membawa balik lantaran jauhnya tempat tumbuhnya pohon Candan gunung tersebut yang pastinya tidak penempatan orang asli dekat tempat tumbuhnya pohon Candan gunung tersebut. Memaksa persiapan yang cukup rapi dari segi mental dan fisik serta sedikit upacara spriritual harus dibuat hanya untuk mendapatkan pohon Candan gunung tersebut. Karena sulitnya untuk mendapatkan pohon Candan gunung tersebut sesuai dengan sangat mahal harganya yaitu mencapai Rp 1 juta untuk sekilogram saya berkonsentrasi untuk mendapatkan Candan gajah dahulu.
Adakah diantara pengunjung blog ini yang punya pengalaman menanam aquilaria hirta ? bagi bagi dong......
Aquilaria hirta (Candan)
Aquilaria hirta (Candan) merupakan spesies gaharu terbaik. Ia merupakan spesies pohon / pohon gaharu yang tumbuh dikepulauan melayu khususnya Malaysia dan Indonesia. Ia menghasilkan gaharu / resin yang lebih bermutu dan jauh lebih mahal dari aquilaria malaccencis. Ini semakin sulit diperoleh karena tumbuh di tempat tempat tertentu saja dan tidak seperti aquilaria malaccencis yang tidak sesukar Candan untuk ditemukan. Ukuran batang pohon Candan adalah lebih kecil dibandingkan aquilaria malaccensis. Saya menemukan di mana-mana di jakarta untuk mencari pohon / pohon Candan ini dan setelah berbulan bulan mencarinya, Alhamdulillah akhirnya pada julai 2009 saya menemukan orang asli di Daerah Rompin, Pahang untuk untuk membantu saya mendapatkan anak pohon Candan ini. Daun pohon Candan ini adalah berbulu dibagian bawahnya dan bentuk daunnya adalah lebih lebar dibandingkan aquilaria malaccencis. Menurut sahabat saya orang asli tersebut yang lebih ramah disebut Abang Wahab, ada 3 jenis Candan yang diketahuinya yaitu Candan padi, Candan gajah dan Candan gunung. Dari segi penjagaannya anak pohon Candan adalah mudah ditanam seperti anak pohon gaharu yang lain seperti aquilaria subintegra, aquilaria crassna dan aquilaria malaccencis Pokok Candan ini cepat merespon panas cuaca sekitarnya. Berdasarkan pengalaman saya dalam menjaga anak pohon Candan ini, tanah dalam polibeg harus selalu basah dan diletakkan ditempat yang redup untuk awal sebaik diambil dari hutan untuk membantu pertumbuhannya dengan lebih baik. Penanaman anak pohon Candan sebaiknya ditanam sore untuk menghindari anak pohon Candan dari luka bakar dan sebaiknya ditanam dalam di musim hujan untuk penggemar Candan gajah yang ingin menanam tetapi tidak dapat berkonsentrasi penuh waktu terhadap pohon Candan ini lantaran kesibukan kerja. Meskipun begitu menanam pohon Candan (aquilaria hirta) ini adalah sangat berbaloi karena harga yang jauh lebih tinggi dari gaharu malaccencis karena adalah spesies terbaik gaharu. Dihikayatkan bahwa Nabi Adam Alaihissalam hanya diizinkan membawa sepotong dahan pohon gaharu dari surga ketika beliau dilemparkan ke dunia dan dahan pohon gaharu kemungkinan besarnya adalah spesies aquilaria hirta (Candan) spesies gaharu terbaik. Siapa yang berminat mendapatkan anak pohon Candan bisa hubungi saya. Harga adalah RM15.00 saja sepokok. Tinggi adalah 1.5 kaki keatas ..
Sebelumnya saya telah berurusan dengan orang asli di Kuala Lipis untuk mendapatkan Candan gunung. Masih belum rezeki saya lagi mendapat Candan gunung. Menurut sahabat orang asli saya yang lebih nyaman dipanggil Sena, untuk pergi ke tempat yang ada pohon Candan gunung itupun sungguh sulit dan payah. Menurutnya, Candan gunung hanya ada di perbatasan Jakarta, Jakarta dan Banten dan juga ada sedikit di Cameron Highland. Sena pun terkejut saat saya menanyakan pohon Candan dan meluahkan rasa hairannya macamana orang melayu seperti saya pun tahu keberadaan pohon Candan gunung. Pokok Candan gunung ini tumbuh dilereng gunung dan sangat perlu berhati hati untuk mendapatkannya. Tentang yang mengagumkan saya tentang pohon Candan gunung ini adalah saat Sena menceritakan bahwa jika ada pohon Candan gunung disekitar itu berarti pohon gaharu tidak tumbuh disekitarnya dalam jarak 15km. Berarti jika ada ditemukan pohon gaharu, pasti Candan gunung tidak ada di daerah dekat. Diceritakannya lagi tanda tanda adanya pohon Candan gunung itu adalah antaranya bisa ditemukan pohon buluh perindu di sekitarnya, berarti pasti ada binatang buas disitu dan hal ini agak menyeramkan Sena. Untuk tujuan mengambil anak pohon saja saya diberitahu Sena terpaksa bermalam dihutan selama 3 malam untuk mengambilnya dan membawa balik lantaran jauhnya tempat tumbuhnya pohon Candan gunung tersebut yang pastinya tidak penempatan orang asli dekat tempat tumbuhnya pohon Candan gunung tersebut. Memaksa persiapan yang cukup rapi dari segi mental dan fisik serta sedikit upacara spriritual harus dibuat hanya untuk mendapatkan pohon Candan gunung tersebut. Karena sulitnya untuk mendapatkan pohon Candan gunung tersebut sesuai dengan sangat mahal harganya yaitu mencapai Rp 1 juta untuk sekilogram saya berkonsentrasi untuk mendapatkan Candan gajah dahulu.
Adakah diantara pengunjung blog ini yang punya pengalaman menanam aquilaria hirta ? bagi bagi dong......
Gaharu VS Gaharu Buaya
(Copied from http://agarwoodindonesia.com)
Oud or gaharu in Indonesia had 17 kinds of species. But people especially traders in Indonesia divide these 17 kinds into 2 major class. The Gaharu so called “real ” oud and Gaharu Buaya so called “2nd grade” oud.
What’s the different between these two anyway?
Well First, let me introduce you to Gaharu or so called as “real” oud.
“Real ” oud are mostly come from Aquilaria Family. These includes The most highly priced now Aquilaria Crassna also known as Cambodi Oud. Aquilaria Malacensis, Aquilaria Beccariana, Aquilaria Fillaria (the Papuan Oud) and so on. These Aquilaria families were highly priced because of there high quality. Defining what is high and and not in oud business is difficult. Since many people strictly depend on their noses and experience. And nose those that aren’t trained enough can be easily to be fooled.
The reason aquilaria class is considered high grade is the highly eudesmol content inside the oil. They say the higher the eudesmol the higher the quality of an oud oil. But to me me this is still vague. What is behind the mystery of these Aquilaria are higly priced?
Some said the middle eastern people seek for oil that will dooze them up with full relaxation after they inhale the vapor. Simply they become very sleepy and wake up with a very relaxing state. And this is from Aquilaria Family.
From chemical aspect oud is very unique substance since it consist 17 kinds of compound. That each had different in these compound even in a single species that live in a different area.
Let’s discus about Gaharu Buaya
For you oud lovers outside my country (Indonesia) mostly didn’t have any clue about these type of Oud. The term “buaya” in gaharu meaning “crocodile“.
The naming of Buaya had their own story.
One version said that the naming came from where these so called gaharu buaya lives. Which is in the bogs or the swamp, that is the habitat of crocodile. Since they are gaharu so people called them as gaharu buaya to differ their jungle counter part.
Other version of this naming Buaya is actually a marking for it’s quality. Buaya in Indonesian culture related to a person that is a womanizer and a big liar. So marking it with this buaya name give it a difference with “real” oud. Well some gaharu buaya is quite disgusting resemble to what we called as minyak nyongnyong (very strong oil that super powerful in it’s oudor that make you wanted to vommit). But some where had agreeable odor close to Aquilaria Class. Like the one I had here Aetoxylon Sympetalum.
The Gaharu Buaya had a lot more species then the Gaharu from Aquilaria Family. That’s another difference. In oud perfumery industry, these gaharu buaya are largely use for mixture with Aquilaria Family to meet the demand of growing market. Since Aquilaria class is very expensive that would not be economic to use these Aquilaria in Industry.
Many of these Gaharu Buaya oil goes to India trough Singapore, there they will be mixed with other oud from Aquillaria Family and sell to middle east. And later on to the Europe and USA.
The point is people don’t let your nose and you experience trick you…..
Since my fellow friend sell several hundred dollars worth of oud for several thousand dollars because of the buyers mistake. My friend tried to explain with his best ways. Even show the guy a lab certificate . But the guy don’t get it. He simply give up in explaining it. Then he put several bottles and let him pick. The guy’s pick is on the wrong one…it only worth several hundreds a liter but he paid it for several thousand…. And when my friend warn him that is not a good one, the guy insist. So they had a deal and my friend is both happy and confuse.
Why this guy pick the wrong one? It was only a Gaharu Buaya….
That’s all folks….
Thank you for reading
Oud or gaharu in Indonesia had 17 kinds of species. But people especially traders in Indonesia divide these 17 kinds into 2 major class. The Gaharu so called “real ” oud and Gaharu Buaya so called “2nd grade” oud.
What’s the different between these two anyway?
Well First, let me introduce you to Gaharu or so called as “real” oud.
“Real ” oud are mostly come from Aquilaria Family. These includes The most highly priced now Aquilaria Crassna also known as Cambodi Oud. Aquilaria Malacensis, Aquilaria Beccariana, Aquilaria Fillaria (the Papuan Oud) and so on. These Aquilaria families were highly priced because of there high quality. Defining what is high and and not in oud business is difficult. Since many people strictly depend on their noses and experience. And nose those that aren’t trained enough can be easily to be fooled.
The reason aquilaria class is considered high grade is the highly eudesmol content inside the oil. They say the higher the eudesmol the higher the quality of an oud oil. But to me me this is still vague. What is behind the mystery of these Aquilaria are higly priced?
Some said the middle eastern people seek for oil that will dooze them up with full relaxation after they inhale the vapor. Simply they become very sleepy and wake up with a very relaxing state. And this is from Aquilaria Family.
From chemical aspect oud is very unique substance since it consist 17 kinds of compound. That each had different in these compound even in a single species that live in a different area.
Let’s discus about Gaharu Buaya
For you oud lovers outside my country (Indonesia) mostly didn’t have any clue about these type of Oud. The term “buaya” in gaharu meaning “crocodile“.
The naming of Buaya had their own story.
One version said that the naming came from where these so called gaharu buaya lives. Which is in the bogs or the swamp, that is the habitat of crocodile. Since they are gaharu so people called them as gaharu buaya to differ their jungle counter part.
Other version of this naming Buaya is actually a marking for it’s quality. Buaya in Indonesian culture related to a person that is a womanizer and a big liar. So marking it with this buaya name give it a difference with “real” oud. Well some gaharu buaya is quite disgusting resemble to what we called as minyak nyongnyong (very strong oil that super powerful in it’s oudor that make you wanted to vommit). But some where had agreeable odor close to Aquilaria Class. Like the one I had here Aetoxylon Sympetalum.
The Gaharu Buaya had a lot more species then the Gaharu from Aquilaria Family. That’s another difference. In oud perfumery industry, these gaharu buaya are largely use for mixture with Aquilaria Family to meet the demand of growing market. Since Aquilaria class is very expensive that would not be economic to use these Aquilaria in Industry.
Many of these Gaharu Buaya oil goes to India trough Singapore, there they will be mixed with other oud from Aquillaria Family and sell to middle east. And later on to the Europe and USA.
The point is people don’t let your nose and you experience trick you…..
Since my fellow friend sell several hundred dollars worth of oud for several thousand dollars because of the buyers mistake. My friend tried to explain with his best ways. Even show the guy a lab certificate . But the guy don’t get it. He simply give up in explaining it. Then he put several bottles and let him pick. The guy’s pick is on the wrong one…it only worth several hundreds a liter but he paid it for several thousand…. And when my friend warn him that is not a good one, the guy insist. So they had a deal and my friend is both happy and confuse.
Why this guy pick the wrong one? It was only a Gaharu Buaya….
That’s all folks….
Thank you for reading
Hama Gaharu dan Pengendaliannya
(Taken from http://supergaharu.wordpress.com)
Tanaman gaharu semula adalah tanaman yang hidup di hutan dengan ekosistem yang stabil. Pada saat tanaman gaharu sudah dibudidayakan, maka kemudian kita identifikasikan ada serangan hama yang sangat signifikan, yaitu ulat daun. Serangan tersebut belum secara signifikan sebelumnya. Akan tetapi pada musim hujan yang berkepanjanagn tahun 2009 dan 2010 telah menyebabkan serangan yang fatal sehingga menyebabkan banyak tanaman mati. Serangan bisa kita ketahui ketika kita menyaksikan benyak bergelantungan ulat-ulat ketika kita mengunjungi tanaman gaharu. Kalau kita perhatikan lebih seksama, pada baik dedaunan pohon gaharu sudah terdapat gerombolan-gerombolan ulat yang sedang beraktivitas. Pada saat serangan berat maka daun terlihat meranggas dan tertinggal tulang daun. Pohon gaharu biasanya akan kembali recovery dengan tumbuh tunas-tunas baru. Hanya saja harus diwaspadai bahwa akan terjadi serangan berikutnya yang menyebabkan daun belum berkembang sempurna dan kemudian dimakan kembali hingga tidak bersisa. Pohon akhirnya tidak bisa bertahan karena suplai makanan dari daun secara drastis berkurang.
Ngengat ini ditemukan di Asia Tenggara seperti Indonesia dan Thailand, Asia Timur seperti Hongkong dan Taiwan, Asia Selatan seperti India, serta di Queensland / Australia .
Serangga dewasa (imago) mempunyai lebar sayap sekitar 30 mm. Warna ngengat memiliki pola hitam dan kuning pucat pada sayap depan serta warna putih dengan batas hitam yang luas pada sayap belakang.
Larva ditemukan hidup dan makan pada Rhus, Aquilaria spp. dan Phaleria macrocarpa (mahkota dewa). Mereka hidup secara komunal pada sejumlah daun bersama-sama dengan jalinan benang/sutra. Larva/ulat berwarna hijau pucat dengan garis hitam yang luas di setiap sisinya. Larva kemudian menjatuhkan diri di tanah dan menjadi Pupa atau kepompong di tanah.
1. Telur
Ngengat meletakkan telurnya yang berwarna putih kekuning-kuningan yang akan segera berubah menjadi kuning ke- hijau-hijauan dalam bentuk kluster pada bagian bawah permukaan daun yang mu- da pada cabang tanaman yang dekat dengan permukaan tanah, jumlah telur yang dihasilkan per imago betina berkisar antara 350-500. Telur akan menetas sekitar 10 hari (Kalita et al., 2002).
2. Larva/Ulat
Ulat H. vitessoides pada instar perta- ma berwarna kuning pucat dan pada in- star selanjutnya menjadi hijau kekuning- kuningan, ulat ini terdiri dari 5 instar dan berlangsung selama 23 hari. Larva instar terakhir pada saat akan berkepompong mulai berhenti makan dan ulat turun ke permukaan tanah untuk berkepompong.
3. Pupa
Larva instar terakhir sebelum berke- pompong akan berhenti makan dan turun ke permukaan tanah dengan bantuan be- nang sutera yang dihasilkannya. Ulat akan membungkus dirinya dengan butir- an-butiran tanah atau serpihan-serpihan serasah yang ada di permukaan dengan bantuan benang-benang suteranya. Stadi- um pupa berkisar 8 hari (Kalita et al., 2002).
4. Ngengat
Serangga dewasa berbentuk ngengat yang aktif pada waktu malam. Ngengat betina dapat meletakkan telur sebanyak
350-500. Stadium ngengat berkisar seki- tar 4 hari (Kalita et al., 2002).
Ulat gaharu yang menyerang pada daun ini serangannya serempak. Dalam beberapa hari, apabila tidak bisa dikendalikan maka pohon akan segera meranggas dan dalam sebulan pohon bisa mati. Ini sungguh luar biasa. Ulat-ulat terlihat rakus secara bersama-sama memakan daun. Apabila kita usik, maka segera saja akan bergantungan dan berjatuhan dari daun bagian atas menuju daun-daun bagian bawahnya bahkan hingga ke tanah. Sepertinya tali temali tadi merupakan salah satu moda pertahanan hidupnya. Bergelantungan dan berayun serta kembali lagi jika sudah tidak terganggu.
A. Jangka Pendek
1. Mekanis
Pengendalian mekanis merupakan pengendalian yang sangat sederhana, su- dah populer di tingkat petani, yaitu de- ngan cara mengambil ulat atau telur yang ada di tanaman tersebut. Pengendalian dengan cara ini mudah diaplikasikan ter- utama pada pesemaian atau bibit yang ba- ru dua tahun, dimana tanaman masih bisa dijangkau oleh orang dengan berdiri tanpa bantuan alat.
2. Kimiawi
Pengendalian kimiawi dapat dilaku- kan dengan insektisida kontak, sistemik atau dengan insektisida yang berbahan aktif mikroorganisme, seperti Beauveria bassiana atau Bacillus thuringiensis. Karena hama ini memakan daun dan pada serangan berat umumnya tanaman gundul, maka disarankan pada saat penyemprotan dikombinasikan dengan pemupukan lewat daun dengan pupuk daun seperti gandasil, growmore, dan lain-lain untuk merangsang tumbuhnya tunas-tunas baru.
3. Nabati
Pengendalian nabati merupakan pengendalian yang cukup sederhana dan dapat dilakukan oleh petani sendiri dengan mengambil bahan-bahan yang ada di sekitar lokasi penanaman tanaman gaharu.
B. Jangka Menengah
1. Predator Rangrang
Semut rangrang (Oecophylla smaradigna) merupakan serangga yang mudah ditemukan di pepohonan di perkampungan seperti tanaman nangka, rambutan, melinjo, durian, dan lain-lain. Pencarian sarang semut rangrang yang memiliki ratu merupakan salah satu faktor keberhasilan dalam perkembangan populasi serangga tersebut dalam jangka panjang (Mele et al., 2004 and Mele, 2008).
C. Jangka Panjang
1. Musuh Alami
Musuh alami, baik parasit maupun predator dari serangga perusak daun tanaman penghasil gaharu H. vitessoides merupakan suatu cara pengendalian yang sangat diharapkan dalam jangka panjang.
2. Teknik Silvikultur
Pengendalian dengan cara teknik silvikultur merupakan salah satu cara pengendalian yang sudah menyatu dengan penanaman suatu tanaman dan termasuk pengendalian yang sudah cukup dikenal oleh petani.
Tanaman gaharu semula adalah tanaman yang hidup di hutan dengan ekosistem yang stabil. Pada saat tanaman gaharu sudah dibudidayakan, maka kemudian kita identifikasikan ada serangan hama yang sangat signifikan, yaitu ulat daun. Serangan tersebut belum secara signifikan sebelumnya. Akan tetapi pada musim hujan yang berkepanjanagn tahun 2009 dan 2010 telah menyebabkan serangan yang fatal sehingga menyebabkan banyak tanaman mati. Serangan bisa kita ketahui ketika kita menyaksikan benyak bergelantungan ulat-ulat ketika kita mengunjungi tanaman gaharu. Kalau kita perhatikan lebih seksama, pada baik dedaunan pohon gaharu sudah terdapat gerombolan-gerombolan ulat yang sedang beraktivitas. Pada saat serangan berat maka daun terlihat meranggas dan tertinggal tulang daun. Pohon gaharu biasanya akan kembali recovery dengan tumbuh tunas-tunas baru. Hanya saja harus diwaspadai bahwa akan terjadi serangan berikutnya yang menyebabkan daun belum berkembang sempurna dan kemudian dimakan kembali hingga tidak bersisa. Pohon akhirnya tidak bisa bertahan karena suplai makanan dari daun secara drastis berkurang.
Heortia vitessoides Moore.
Ngengat ini ditemukan di Asia Tenggara seperti Indonesia dan Thailand, Asia Timur seperti Hongkong dan Taiwan, Asia Selatan seperti India, serta di Queensland / Australia .
Serangga dewasa (imago) mempunyai lebar sayap sekitar 30 mm. Warna ngengat memiliki pola hitam dan kuning pucat pada sayap depan serta warna putih dengan batas hitam yang luas pada sayap belakang.
Larva ditemukan hidup dan makan pada Rhus, Aquilaria spp. dan Phaleria macrocarpa (mahkota dewa). Mereka hidup secara komunal pada sejumlah daun bersama-sama dengan jalinan benang/sutra. Larva/ulat berwarna hijau pucat dengan garis hitam yang luas di setiap sisinya. Larva kemudian menjatuhkan diri di tanah dan menjadi Pupa atau kepompong di tanah.
Siklus Hidup
Ngengat meletakkan telurnya yang berwarna putih kekuning-kuningan yang akan segera berubah menjadi kuning ke- hijau-hijauan dalam bentuk kluster pada bagian bawah permukaan daun yang mu- da pada cabang tanaman yang dekat dengan permukaan tanah, jumlah telur yang dihasilkan per imago betina berkisar antara 350-500. Telur akan menetas sekitar 10 hari (Kalita et al., 2002).
2. Larva/Ulat
Ulat H. vitessoides pada instar perta- ma berwarna kuning pucat dan pada in- star selanjutnya menjadi hijau kekuning- kuningan, ulat ini terdiri dari 5 instar dan berlangsung selama 23 hari. Larva instar terakhir pada saat akan berkepompong mulai berhenti makan dan ulat turun ke permukaan tanah untuk berkepompong.
3. Pupa
Larva instar terakhir sebelum berke- pompong akan berhenti makan dan turun ke permukaan tanah dengan bantuan be- nang sutera yang dihasilkannya. Ulat akan membungkus dirinya dengan butir- an-butiran tanah atau serpihan-serpihan serasah yang ada di permukaan dengan bantuan benang-benang suteranya. Stadi- um pupa berkisar 8 hari (Kalita et al., 2002).
4. Ngengat
Serangga dewasa berbentuk ngengat yang aktif pada waktu malam. Ngengat betina dapat meletakkan telur sebanyak
350-500. Stadium ngengat berkisar seki- tar 4 hari (Kalita et al., 2002).
Ulat
Ulat gaharu yang menyerang pada daun ini serangannya serempak. Dalam beberapa hari, apabila tidak bisa dikendalikan maka pohon akan segera meranggas dan dalam sebulan pohon bisa mati. Ini sungguh luar biasa. Ulat-ulat terlihat rakus secara bersama-sama memakan daun. Apabila kita usik, maka segera saja akan bergantungan dan berjatuhan dari daun bagian atas menuju daun-daun bagian bawahnya bahkan hingga ke tanah. Sepertinya tali temali tadi merupakan salah satu moda pertahanan hidupnya. Bergelantungan dan berayun serta kembali lagi jika sudah tidak terganggu.
Pengendalian
A. Jangka Pendek
1. Mekanis
Pengendalian mekanis merupakan pengendalian yang sangat sederhana, su- dah populer di tingkat petani, yaitu de- ngan cara mengambil ulat atau telur yang ada di tanaman tersebut. Pengendalian dengan cara ini mudah diaplikasikan ter- utama pada pesemaian atau bibit yang ba- ru dua tahun, dimana tanaman masih bisa dijangkau oleh orang dengan berdiri tanpa bantuan alat.
2. Kimiawi
Pengendalian kimiawi dapat dilaku- kan dengan insektisida kontak, sistemik atau dengan insektisida yang berbahan aktif mikroorganisme, seperti Beauveria bassiana atau Bacillus thuringiensis. Karena hama ini memakan daun dan pada serangan berat umumnya tanaman gundul, maka disarankan pada saat penyemprotan dikombinasikan dengan pemupukan lewat daun dengan pupuk daun seperti gandasil, growmore, dan lain-lain untuk merangsang tumbuhnya tunas-tunas baru.
3. Nabati
Pengendalian nabati merupakan pengendalian yang cukup sederhana dan dapat dilakukan oleh petani sendiri dengan mengambil bahan-bahan yang ada di sekitar lokasi penanaman tanaman gaharu.
B. Jangka Menengah
1. Predator Rangrang
Semut rangrang (Oecophylla smaradigna) merupakan serangga yang mudah ditemukan di pepohonan di perkampungan seperti tanaman nangka, rambutan, melinjo, durian, dan lain-lain. Pencarian sarang semut rangrang yang memiliki ratu merupakan salah satu faktor keberhasilan dalam perkembangan populasi serangga tersebut dalam jangka panjang (Mele et al., 2004 and Mele, 2008).
C. Jangka Panjang
1. Musuh Alami
Musuh alami, baik parasit maupun predator dari serangga perusak daun tanaman penghasil gaharu H. vitessoides merupakan suatu cara pengendalian yang sangat diharapkan dalam jangka panjang.
2. Teknik Silvikultur
Pengendalian dengan cara teknik silvikultur merupakan salah satu cara pengendalian yang sudah menyatu dengan penanaman suatu tanaman dan termasuk pengendalian yang sudah cukup dikenal oleh petani.
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