What is Oud: Agarwood in Gulf Perfumery

Understanding Oud and Agarwood

Agarwood, commonly called oud, is a fragrant, dark, resinous wood used in incense, perfume and small hand carvings. In Arabic, both the wood and its distilled resin or extracts are called oud, a word that literally means rod or stick.

Arabic Wikipedia defines oud as a dark resin found in the heartwood of trees of the genus Aquilaria. The tree secretes a resin as a defence against a fungal infection, and as the infection advances, the heartwood becomes very dense, dark and saturated with fragrant resin.

Origins and Formation

In wild trees, wounds and infection come from ants and wood-boring insects that carry fungi and other pathogens into the tree. Plantations reproduce the process by drilling holes in the trees and introducing fungal inoculants.

Kew's Plants of the World Online gives the native range of Aquilaria malaccensis as Bangladesh to western and central Malesia, including Assam, Borneo, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sumatra, Thailand and Vietnam.

The aroma of agarwood varies with the species, the geographic origin, whether it comes from branch, trunk or root, the time since infection, and how it is harvested and processed.

Conservation Status

Since 1995 CITES, the convention on international trade in endangered species, has listed Aquilaria malaccensis, the primary source of agarwood, in its Appendix II. A review attached to a CITES Plants Committee document states that all members of both agarwood genera, Aquilaria and Gyrinops (at least 28 species), are listed in CITES Appendix II.

Among Aquilaria species, the IUCN lists 4 as critically endangered, 1 as endangered and 8 as vulnerable. The review notes that plantation agarwood is apparently of lower quality and worth less than wild agarwood, so demand for wild stock remains very high.

Cultural Significance in the Gulf

Oud is one of the reasons the Arab region developed trade routes in ancient times. The main importers of Aquilaria agarwood include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Taiwan.

Agarwood fragrances are considered a symbol of a high standard of living in Middle Eastern and Arab countries. Oud has traditionally been used in mosques, where its chips are burned as incense.

In the Gulf, oud is burned as raw wood chips, distilled into oil (dehn al oud), and blended into bakhoor (what is dukhoon), perfumes and incense sticks. Agarwood oil and agarwood incense are both used for their fragrance, notably in the Middle East.

Oud in Modern Perfumery

Few perfume houses use real oud in their creations. Most brands have a creation built on oud, or on an oud accord made from certain synthetic scent components; perfumes that list oud are collected on the oud note page.

In perfumery, oud is generally used as a base note and is traditionally paired with rose. See also the agarwood note page.

Catalogue Perfumes

The Al Rehab Shajarat Al Oud is an Eau de Parfum featuring geranium and rose top notes, patchouli and amyris heart notes, and oud base notes. Al Rehab Anfas Al Oud is an Eau de Parfum with sandalwood top notes, saffron and amber heart notes, and base notes of oud and warm oriental notes.

The Armaf Eter Magical Oud is an Eau de Parfum with saffron and pink pepper top notes, lily of the valley and cedarwood heart notes, and base notes of agarwood, vetiver, sandalwood and tobacco. Ajmal Alf Laila O Laila is an Eau de Parfum featuring saffron top notes, heart notes of saffron, rose, raspberry and blackcurrant, and base notes of amber, oud agarwood and musk.

The Al Rehab Valor Oud is an Eau de Parfum with saffron, turmeric leaf oil and apple top notes, heart notes of oud accord and lavandin absolute, and base notes of oakmoss absolute, patchouli oil light and labdanum resinoid. Swiss Arabian Oud Malaki is a perfume oil with saffron, apple and pink pepper top notes, heart notes of rose, oud accord and sage, and base notes of amber, musk and vanilla.

Sources

• Wikipedia (EN): Agarwood
• ويكيبيديا (AR): عود (عطر)
• CITES Plants Committee: CITES Plants Committee agarwood document, with the ITTO Technical Series No. 51 review "Expensive, Exploited and Endangered" (2022)
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Plants of the World Online): Aquilaria malaccensis Lam.
• Oud Saray (UAE perfumer): العود والبخور والدخون: ما الفرق بينها؟
• TRAFFIC / IUCN Library: Heart of the Matter: Agarwood Use and Trade and CITES Implementation for Aquilaria malaccensis