Agarwood (Oud Wood): What It Is, How It Forms and How to Buy It

Agarwood, also called oud wood, is the dark, resin-filled heartwood of Aquilaria trees. A healthy tree has pale, light and almost scentless wood. Only after a wound does the tree lay down a fragrant resin, and that resin-soaked part is agarwood.^{(Hishamuddin 2020)}

People have burned, carved and worn oud wood for centuries across Asia and the Middle East. Today it appears as beads, chips for gentle heating, distilled oil and incense. Oudbracelet is the retail storefront of AgarwoodTown, whose agarwood trade dates back to 2014. We sell plantation oud wood as bracelets and beads, and this page is our map of everything worth knowing about it.

So start here, then follow the links. Each section below points to a longer guide on that one question.

According to Hishamuddin et al. (2020), there are about 21 Aquilaria species, and the whole genus is listed in CITES Appendix II.^{(Hishamuddin 2020)} First, oud wood forms only in some of those trees. Then it forms only after injury. Finally, plantation growers now start that process on purpose.

Agarwood and oud wood are two names for one material, so every row applies to both. In practice, the weight row matters most to a buyer, because resin adds weight and the price follows the scale.

Oud wood is a material with more names than almost any other. Oud comes from Arabic, where the word simply means wood, and oud is the usual name in perfume and in the Gulf. Agarwood comes, through older forms, from the Sanskrit agaru. Aloeswood is the old European name, and the word has nothing to do with the aloe vera plant.

Likewise, eaglewood has nothing to do with eagles. Instead, eaglewood is an old European mishearing of the Asian name. In Southeast Asia the trade name is gaharu. The Chinese name is chén xiāng, “sinking fragrance”, after the heavy pieces which sink in water. Japanese incense culture, meanwhile, uses the name jinkō.

So a listing for oud wood, agarwood or aloeswood beads describes the same material. Science settles on one term: agarwood is the infected heartwood of Aquilaria species, according to a 2011 review by Naef.^{(Naef 2011)} Finally, the name tells you about the seller’s market, not about quality.

Oud wood is a defence response of the Aquilaria tree. When lightning, insects, a broken branch or a fungus opens the trunk, the tree packs aromatic compounds into the wood around the wound. Over months to years, the wounded wood darkens and grows heavy, according to a 2019 review by Tan and colleagues.^{(Tan 2019)}

In the wild, resin forms only by chance, so many trees never make oud wood at all. On plantations, growers wound or inoculate the trees on purpose, and the tree still makes the resin itself. For example, the induction methods in the Tan review range from simple drilling to fungal inoculation. Additionally, about 21 Aquilaria species exist, according to Hishamuddin and colleagues, yet only wounded trees hold oud wood.^{(Hishamuddin 2020)} Our guide to the Aquilaria tree explains both routes in detail.

Oud wood smells woody and resinous, often with a faint sweetness and sometimes a leathery edge. The scent is a blend of many aromatic compounds, mainly sesquiterpenes and chromones, according to a 2011 review by Naef.^{(Naef 2011)} The proportions vary from piece to piece, so no two strands smell exactly alike.

Cold, the scent is quiet. However, a warm hand brings the scent up, and gentle heat brings up far more. Traditionally, people warm oud wood chips rather than burn the chips hard. Oud perfumes, by contrast, usually blend a little oud oil or a synthetic accord with rose, amber or vanilla. So oud perfumes smell louder and sweeter than the wood itself. Our guide on whether agarwood beads smell covers what to expect from a bracelet.

Oud wood is the raw material, while oud perfume is a finished blend. For example, a bracelet of oud wood keeps its resin for years, and a spray of perfume lasts hours on skin. In practice, judge the wood by weight, grain and warm scent, because a perfume offers only the smell. Additionally, oud oil comes from distilling the wood, and a little oil takes a lot of wood.

Oud wood is a single material, and most of it reaches buyers in four forms. Beads and carvings are worn or handled, and they are what we make: bracelets, malas, pendants and loose beads. Chips are small pieces warmed on a heater or charcoal to release the scent. Oil is distilled from the wood, and it takes a lot of wood to make a little oil. Incense blends powdered oud wood with other materials.

We sell only the first form here. For oil, bakhoor and incense in wholesale quantities, our parent company AgarwoodTown supplies businesses. Also, if you are new to oud wood, beads are the easiest way in: nothing to burn, nothing to spill, and the scent grows with wear. All four forms share one source, the resin-filled heartwood of Aquilaria trees, according to Naef.^{(Naef 2011)}

A bracelet is the most common way to wear oud wood, and round beads are the classic cut. For example, a 108-bead mala suits counting, while a pendant suits a gift with no wrist size to guess. In practice, loose beads suit people who already string their own designs.

Sellers price oud wood by weight, because resin is heavier than plain wood. A resin-rich piece weighs more for its size, so the scale is the fairest single measure. For example, we weigh every strand on camera before we quote. Our guide to agarwood bracelet price shows the arithmetic.

Wild harvest has also made several Aquilaria species critically endangered. Of about 21 species, 4 are critically endangered and 9 are vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, according to Hishamuddin and colleagues.^{(Hishamuddin 2020)} Together, the two groups make up roughly 62% of the genus. So every species sits in CITES Appendix II, a list which allows trade only with permits.^(CITES) We sell plantation oud wood only, and we confirm the paperwork for your country with your quote, before you pay.

Weight for size is the best single check, because resin is denser than plain wood. In practice, steps 1 and 3 together catch the commonest fake: plain wood dyed dark and soaked in fragrance oil, which feels light and smells loud straight from the bag.

Oud wood is the resin an Aquilaria tree lays down around a wound: slowly, unevenly and never the same way twice. Everything else follows from the wound response: the scent, the weight, the price and the care.

So when you buy oud wood, ask for evidence rather than adjectives. First, ask for the weight. Second, look at the grain. Finally, smell the beads warm. We show all three for every strand, weighed on camera before you decide. Plantation growers now start the wound on purpose, according to Tan and colleagues, so plantation oud wood no longer depends on chance.^{(Tan 2019)} Start with our guide to buying an agarwood bracelet.