Some might have heard of this highly valued gaharu or agarwood. Gaharu or agarwood is a dark resinous heartwood that forms after Aquilaria trees are infected with a particular mold. It's part of the trees protection mechanism from the mold infection. This dark resin has a very distinctive fragrance that makes it highly valued in production of incense and perfumes. It's not easy to spot which Aquilaria trees that have been infected by mold and develop this dense, dark resin. The trees could look like any other healthy tree without any sign of infection visible from direct observation. Sometimes it takes weeks for gaharu hunters to find a right tree that contains mature gaharu. The hunting process itself is very interesting, a group of people or some individuals will prepare and bring with them enough supplies for 2-4 weeks in the forest. This trip to look for gaharu is rarely done alone, as forest is not for those with faint-hearted. Every single decision to roam a particular area or cut down a single tree is a matter of efficiency. Wrong decision means waste of money and time. Decreasing forest area becomes one of main threats for Aguilaria trees and affects the gaharu hunters. Many times they have to come home without any result. Above photo is one type of Aquilaria trees, there are fifteen species of Aquilaria, eight of them are known to produce gaharu. We call it 'gaharu limau' in Indonesia language.
