26/09/2020
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Agarwood - Gem of Truth
If you want to grow agarwood trees, make sure to feed them plenty of carrot shavings. They prefer to drink rainwater, and will not tolerate the calcium found in pipes. Agarwood trees like it reasonably hot, up to human body temperature, but need the relief of natural shade, like palm trees. The ridiculous trunk tapers the wrong way, like a baobab, and the surface pulsates with thousands of tiny bumps.
There are many truths, sacred and commercial, about this elusive tree and his products. Perhaps the one undeniable truth, true beyond all questions, is his value: considerable. And even this truth is shifting and unclear, if you want an exact number, because agarwood will not give you an absolute; every tree is an individual, every piece of wood has his own personality, and every entity that is gleaned from each piece is alike only to the others taken from immediately around it, and utilized in the same way.
I have paid attention and many dollars over as many years in pursuit of "real" agarwood. I have traveled to the great agarwood markets of Bangkok, Singapore and Bombay and learnt the Chinese grading system in Manchuria. I have talked about the meaning of agarwood with devout Muslims over endless tiny cups of tea all over the Middle East, and I can tell you this: There are as many truths as there are people to tell them. How many times have I found the "real story," and filed the last truth away in the back of my mind, in embarrassment at having believed such a story?
Here is a fairly undeniable truth: Agarwood, both the oil and the wood, come from 2 or 3 species of Aquilaria tree which grows, or grew, from the states of Eastern India through Burma, down through Bangladesh, Thailand, Indochina and along the Malay peninsula to Papua New Guinea and even Borneo. This habitat is now smaller. End of truth. According to CITES, Aquilaria malacchensis is rated "vulnerable" and A. crassna is "critically endangered." There seems to be some confusion over A. agollocha, whether it merits its own rating or if it is in fact the same as A. malacchensis. Consequently, this species is not rated. Not all of the above countries are CITES signees. There is some confusion also about growth in certain regions. For example, these agencies are not able to prove that agarwood comes from Lao PDR. Agarwood is also considered 'Vulnerable" in India where it is most likely extinct already. Although A. crassna is often reported as being the agarwood of Indochina (which is the most valuable,) there are also contradictory reports. When I asked for the botanical name at the Laotian still, my question was greeted with laughter. And of course it's funny. There are no botanists at the agarwood still. I will refer to agarwood as "agarwood" throughout this article and leave the precise Latin naming to your imagination.
It is a fact that agarwood is over-harvested in the wild. It is also a fact that the agarwood business involves vast amounts of money and involves a rare, beautiful and highly labor-intensive commodity that costs more than gold, and is infinitely more precious. It is also a secretive world, with tales spun to accommodate the expectations of the buyer.
Rarity:
Agarwood is now found very occasionally in the wilds of Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia (Kampuchea). It is no longer found in India, Bangladesh, Thailand or China. There are rumors of farms (both successful and unsuccessful) in Vietnam and Indonesia. The only large trees left are in Western Kampuchea, because of the impossibility of collection for many years due to continual fighting and mine laying. There may also be a few large trees left in the very remote forests of Laos. The mere presence of the tree is not a guarantee of fragrant agarwood; there must also be a presence of a certain group of fungi imperfecti, and the synergy that takes place between these fungi and the tree will cause the fragrant compounds to blossom. A completely uninfected tree will not be worth the trouble of harvest.
