What is Agarwood?
The fragrant resin treasured for thousands of years — explained.
Agarwood — known as oud (عود) in Arabic, chénxiāng (沉香) in Chinese, jinkō (沈香) in Japanese — is the dark, fragrant resin that forms inside Aquilaria trees in response to wounding or fungal infection. Healthy Aquilaria wood is pale and odourless; the precious resin appears only after the tree mounts a defensive response. Today most legal agarwood reaches the market through plantation cultivation under CITES Appendix II rules.
A Tree's Defense, Humanity's Treasure
Agarwood — also known as oud, aloeswood, or 沉香 — is the dark, fragrant resin produced by Aquilaria trees in response to injury or fungal infection.
Healthy Aquilaria wood is pale and odorless. It is only when the tree is wounded that it begins to secrete the precious resin that gives agarwood its unmistakable scent.
This rare combination of biology and chance has made agarwood one of the most valuable raw materials in the world by weight.
How Agarwood Forms — 4 Stages
1. Wounding
The tree is naturally or artificially injured.
2. Infection
Fungi enter the wound and trigger a defense response.
3. Resin Secretion
The tree produces aromatic resin to protect itself.
4. Maturation
Years of accumulation transform the wood into agarwood.
Aquilaria Species We Cultivate
Aquilaria sinensis
Our primary species — native to Guangdong, prized in East Asia.
Aquilaria crassna
Indochinese species, classic Cambodi profile.
Aquilaria malaccensis
Indian-Malaccan species, the historical reference.
Grafted Kynam Lines
Our exclusive university-partnered varieties.
How agarwood forms
- Wounding — the tree is naturally injured or artificially induced.
- Infection — fungi enter the wound and trigger defence response.
- Resin secretion — the tree produces aromatic resin to protect itself.
- Maturation — years of accumulation transform pale wood into agarwood.
Aquilaria species OudLink cultivates
Our primary cultivar is Aquilaria sinensis, the species native to southern China and well adapted to the red-earth hill terroir of Maoming and Hainan. Through our research partnership with South China Agricultural University, we also develop grafted Kynam stock — a category of agarwood with exceptional resin saturation and a distinctive cool-sweet scent that traditionally appeared only through wild harvest.
Why agarwood is among the world's most valuable raw materials
The combination of biological rarity (most Aquilaria trees never produce significant resin), long maturation cycle (years to decades for premium grades), restricted trade (CITES Appendix II), and sustained cultural demand across the Arab world, China, and Japan keeps premium agarwood priced by the gram rather than the kilogram. Top-tier 奇楠 can exceed gold prices weight-for-weight at auction.