Aquilaria sinensis

Description

Aquilaria sinensis is an evergreen tree, 6 to 20 m tall. The smooth bark is grayish to dark grey, and the wood is white to yellowish – so giving it another Chinese name “Pak Muk Heung” White Wood Incense Its branchlets are sparsely covered with hairs when young. Its leaves are alternate, leathery, obovate to elliptic, generally 5 to 11 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide, with 15 to 20 pairs of inconspicuous and nearly parallel lateral veins which is a helpful diagnostic feature in the field. The apex of each leaf is short acuminate and the base is broadly cuneate, with entire and smooth margins. Its flowers are yellowish green, fragrant, in a terminal or axillary umbel. The fruit is a woody obovoid capsule with an outer covering of short grey hairs, 2.5 to 3 cm long, opening in two flat valves when ripen. When the fruit is open, a silky thread from the base of the fruit holds the single seed or two in the air.