Aquilaria malaccensis Lam.

Tree up to 40 m by 60 cm. Bark smooth, whitish; branchlets slender, pale brown, pubescent, glabrescent. Leaves chartaceous, sub-coriaceous, glabrous, sometimes pubescent beneath, glabrescent, shining on both surfaces, elliptic-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 7½-12 by 2½-5¼ cm; base acute, attenuate, or obtuse; apex acuminate, acumen up to 2 cm; nerves 12-16 pairs, rather irregular, often branched, curving upward, elevated beneath, plane or obscure above, veins distinct beneath, invisible above; petiole 4-6 mm. Inflorescences terminal, axillary or supra-axillary, sometimes on internodes, usually branched with 2 or 3 umbels and each with about 10 flowers, more rarely a simple umbel; peduncle or common peduncle 5-15 mm; pedicels slender, 3-6 mm. Flowers green or dirty-yellow, cam-panulate, 5-6 mm long, scattered puberulous outside. Floral tube nearly glabrous within, distinctly 10-ribbed. Calyx lobes ovate-oblong, 2-3 mm long, densely puberulous within, almost as long as the tube, reflexed. Petaloid appendages oblong or slightly ovate-oblong, c. 1 mm long, slightly incurved, densely pilose. Stamens 1.25-2 mm long, the episepalous ones longer than the others; anthers linear, obtuse, as long as or shorter than the filaments. Ovary ovoid, 1-1.5 mm long, densely pubescent; style obscure; stigma capitate. Fruits obovoid or obovoid-oblong, rounded at the apex, cuneate to the base, 3-4 by 2.5 cm, usually compressed, pubescent outside, glabrescent; pericarp woody, the suture face c. 6 mm wide. Seed proper ovoid, including the beak 10 by 6 mm, densely covered with red hairs, the beak c. 4 mm long, the appendage twisted and as long as the seed, separated from it by a short, thin, stipe-like constriction.

An upper canopy tree, commonly found scattered in dense primary forest and the more open, secondary formations, mainly in plains but also on hillsides and ridges up to 750 metres. Mostly by rivers and streams and on ridges with sandy soils.

Uses. According to HEYNE Nutt. Pl. ed. 2 1927 1149 and RIDLEY ( RIDL. J. Str. Br. R. As. Soc. n. 35 1901 73 ) the tree yields a celebrated incense wood which is obtained from the center of an old or dying tree. It is said to be caused by a disease which gains entry through the old decaying branches. Its greatest use has always been for fumigating and it is highly valued in the Orient for ceremonial purposes. It also furnishes a beautiful, silvery bast used for making ropes and clothes. The bast is highly prized for its strength and durability.

Plants can be grown from fresh ripe seeds. They take 15-30 days to germinate.