Aquilaria sinensis Seeds | Chinese Eaglewood Chen Xiang Wood
LATIN NAME: Aquilaria sinensis
COMMON NAME: Chen Xiang
Plant Profile
Chen xiang is the resinous heartwood of Aquilaria sinensis, a tropical evergreen tree 10-20 m tall with leathery leaves and small, inconspicuous flowers. The wood itself is pale and light; the dark, dense, aromatic material that is traded forms only where the tree has been wounded and infected.
The tree is grown in plantations across southern China and South-East Asia, and the resin is induced deliberately by wounding the trunk and introducing fungi. That practice has replaced much of the wild collection, which had driven the species close to extinction.
Aquilaria sinensis comes from southern China and south-east Asia, and it is one of several Aquilaria species that produce agarwood. All of them are listed on CITES Appendix II, which means international trade is controlled and permits are required.
Science & Biotechnology
Agarwood formation is a defence response. When the tree is wounded, often by insects or by physical damage, it produces sesquiterpenes and chromone derivatives that accumulate in the wood and form the dark, aromatic resin. Without infection or injury, the tree produces none of it.
The induced plantation method works by drilling or nailing the trunk and inoculating it with fungi such as Fusarium species. The tree then responds over months or years, and the wood is harvested and graded by the density and the aroma of the resin.
The chemistry of the aroma is a complex mixture of sesquiterpenoids and chromones, and the quality of agarwood is judged by scent rather than by analysis. That makes grading subjective, which is why the trade has a long history of adulteration.
Uses & Benefits
Agarwood is used for incense, for perfume, for carving and for medicine, and it is one of the most expensive raw materials in the world by weight. In Chinese practice it is used as a warming tonic, and it appears in formulas for digestive and respiratory complaints.
In the garden the tree is grown in the tropics and subtropics as a plantation crop and as an ornamental, and it is not a container plant. Commercially the trade is regulated under CITES, and plantation material with documentation is the only legal source for most buyers.
Growing from Seed
Sow fresh seed, since it is recalcitrant and loses viability within weeks. Sow 1 cm deep in a moist, free-draining mix at 25-30°C, and germination takes two to four weeks. Handle the seedlings carefully, as the roots are delicate.
Plant out in light shade in deep, moist, well-drained soil, and water regularly for the first two years. The tree needs humidity and warmth, and it is damaged by frost. Resin induction is started when the trunk is 10-15 cm across, by wounding and inoculation, and the wood is harvested several years later. The tree also responds to wounding with callus, so inoculation has to be timed to the growing season.
Our Take
A plantation crop for the tropics and one of the few plants in the catalogue whose value is created by a wound rather than by growth.
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