Agarwood
Matures in just 6 years

Even by rainforest standards, the aquilaria tree is remarkable. It isn't so much the tree, but what is deep inside it. Aquilaria produces a resinous heartwood, called agarwood. Known as the "Wood of the Gods", agarwood has been traded for centuries. The resinous wood is used for incense, as well as medicinal purposes, and pure resin in its distilled form goes into perfume. Its value therefore is both curative and religious; the Japanese donate flowers and agarwood oil to Shinto-Buddist temples, and faith healers use it in the Middle East.

By the early 1990s, the aquilaria tree had been harvested to near extinction in south-east Asia, and was classified as an endangered species. So a drive began to replace the trees in the natural forest with ones on commercial plantations.

One problem is that not every aquilaria tree produces agarwood. What was needed was a scientific answer which guaranteed production. Nine years ago, a team from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota developed a cultivated version of the trees to provide a sustainable crop.

Working in co-operation with the Rainforest Project Foundation, supported by the European Commission, wood biologist Robert Blanchette from Minnesota University has developed a successful method of forming resin in young plantation aquilaria trees, which is now commercially available www.cultivatedagarwood.com

Thus there is now a real alternative to the exploitation of the natural forests, much of which have been illegally logged. All across south-east Asia, fast-growing aquilaria trees are being planted in large numbers.

Utilising modern technology, Oxigen is now growing aquilaria trees at its plantations in Sri Lanka, and has plans to expand into Thailand. Oxigen waits for the trees to be four to five years old before stimulating them to produce agarwood. The trees can then be harvested, realising a return for investors in just six years.