How Is the Species of the Oud Tree Determined? An Honest Overview
Share
After we introduced in this guide the species of oud trees one by one — from the genus Aquilaria to the genus Gyrinops — the reader poses a pertinent question: if these species are close to this degree, then how is the species of the oud tree determined in the first place? And who has the ability to be decisive that a particular piece is of this species and not that one? The honest answer is that determining the species is a precise matter that occupies the specialists themselves, and that the certainty in it often needs a botanical expertise or laboratory tools, and it often needs the living tree or its leaves and flowers, not the traded splinter of wood. In this article from Oud Treasure we draw the big picture: why the determination is difficult, what the three families of methods that are resorted to are in brief, why the wood alone is not enough, who actually determines the species, and what our position is, honestly. And it is an article from the axes of the botanical guide to the species of oud trees.
This is an introductory article that draws the big picture of how the species of oud trees are determined, not a detailed technical guide nor a final taxonomic reference. We formulate what we say in cautious expressions, and we attribute what concerns the international protection to its source, and we do not invent laboratory techniques that we attribute to ourselves nor market figures of precision that have no support. And our position is frank: at Oud Treasure we do not carry out laboratory examinations to determine the species; we introduce the origin and the grade, and we verify the authenticity by the senses, and we refer you to the specialist in what goes beyond that.
1. Why is determining the species difficult?
One may suppose that each species of oud trees has an apparent feature that separates it from the others, and that the distinction is a matter of an experienced glance. And the truth is far more complex than that, and for three reasons that combine and make the precise determination a real challenge.
The first of them is the morphological closeness between the species. For the species of the genus Aquilaria among themselves, and the species of the genus Gyrinops among themselves, are close in their botanical features to a closeness that makes the separation between them a precise task even for the specialist. Rather, the two genera themselves — Aquilaria and Gyrinops — are siblings that are difficult to separate at times, which is what we detailed in the difference between Aquilaria and Gyrinops. So if the distinction between the two genera needs scrutiny, the distinction between the species within the single genus is more precise and more difficult.
And the second of them is that what reaches the market is not the tree, but rather a splinter of wood or a piece of oud that was cut and treated far from its origin. And the features on which the botanical classification relies — the leaves, the flowers, the fruits, and the structure of the plant — will have been lost or absent from the traded piece, so there does not remain in the hands of whoever wants the determination except a material poor in the taxonomic clues.
And the third of them is the shifts of the classification itself. For the classification of these trees underwent — as the references mention — revisions and rearrangement across time, as species were moved between the genera and their boundaries were reconsidered. And this means that the scientific names themselves are not always fixed finally, and that some of what settled in people's minds was later revised by the specialists. These three facts combined explain why the determination of the species is not taken lightly.
That it is difficult to distinguish between the oud species by the eye does not mean that the classification is futile; rather it is a reflection of the fact that these species are real relatives in a single family (Thymelaeaceae). The close kinship makes the differences subtle, needing tools and references, not that it cancels the existence of the differences.
2. The three methods in brief
When the specialists want to determine the species of the oud tree in verification, they do not rely on a single tool, but rather they make use of three families of methods that complete one another. We present them here in their general picture only, so that you know what each method looks at and where its position is, and we defer their technical details to an independent axis.
The specialists agree that determining the species of the oud tree is not settled by a single tool, but rather by three families of methods that complete one another. We present them here in their general picture only — what each method looks at and where it is used — and we defer their detailed mechanisms and requirements to an independent axis in this guide.
And it is the examination of the apparent botanical features: the shape of the leaves and their edges, the flowers, the fruits and the seeds, and the structure of the bark and the phloem. And these features — as is known — are read on the living tree or on a complete botanical specimen, not on the traded splinter of wood that often arrives cut with neither leaf nor flower.
And it is an approach that looks at the composition of the material through a laboratory analysis of the compounds, searching for patterns that may assist in the distinction. We mention it here in general terms without claiming that it gives a decisive "species identity" by itself; for its reading needs a laboratory and references for comparison, and it remains a subject of evolving research.
And it is the examination of the hereditary material of the plant and its comparison with documented references. It is considered among the most precise approaches in principle, but it requires a specialized laboratory, valid samples, and a sound library of references — and all of that is far from the reach of the ordinary market and what it circulates.
These are three broad families that we have presented in their general lines only. As for how each of them works in detail, and what it requires of samples, tools, and expertise, and where its limits are, we devote to it an independent axis in this guide on the methods of the morphological, chemical, and genetic examination (an article under preparation). What is intended here is that you know that the serious determination is the work of a specialist with tools, not the passing impression of the senses.
And what is intended from this brief presentation is that a correct picture forms with you: the serious determination combines looking at the form of the plant, at its composition, and at its hereditary material when needed — and all of them are approaches that belong to the world of the laboratory and the botanical expertise, not to the table of selling. And from here we move to a practical reason that makes all of this further from what is traded than may be supposed.
3. Why the traded wood is not enough
The core of the practical matter is that the piece of oud that is sold and bought can rarely be traced back to a particular botanical species with certainty merely by looking at it. For the three methods that we presented look — in their essence — at the living plant or at a material valid for laboratory examination, whereas the traded splinter of wood was cut from the tree and dried and perhaps treated, so it lost the clues that are relied upon.
And the morphological method — the clearest of the methods and the closest to understanding — needs leaf, flower, and fruit, and these do not come with the piece. And the chemical and genetic methods need a laboratory, references, and valid samples, and they are procedures that are not carried out at the point of sale nor possessed by the ordinary seller. So the result is that being decisive about the species of a piece from its appearance alone is a going beyond what the available knowledge supports.
And the matter increases in complexity in that the traded oud often passes through stages of cutting, cleaning, shaping, and drying, and pieces from various sources may mix in a single stream of trade. And every step of these steps distances the piece from its original botanical context and increases the difficulty of tracing it back to a particular species. And for this the most truthful thing that is said in describing a traded piece is its origin, its grade, and its character, not its alleged botanical species decisively.
And some people pose a nearby question: is not the scent a clue to the species? Cannot the species be distinguished by the smell alone? This is a question that deserves a detailed answer to which we devote an independent axis in this guide on determining the species from the scent of the wood (an article under preparation). And we suffice here with the honest indication that the scent is affected by the origin, the infection, the grade, and the treatment to an effect that makes it an indicator of the character and the quality more than a decisive evidence of the botanical species.
It is often confused between "where the oud came from" and "what the species of its tree is." The origin is known from the supply chain and the documentation, whereas the botanical species is a taxonomic matter that needs the tools of the specialist. That we know a piece is from a certain region is one thing, and that we are decisive that it is of a particular species is another thing that is not established from the origin alone.
4. Who determines the species?
If the determination is of this precision, then who actually possesses it? The honest answer is that determining the species in verification is the work of the botanical specialists and the specialized laboratories, not the work of the seller or the broker or even the extractors of oud in general. For the experienced botanist may read the features of the living plant, and the laboratory possesses the tools of the chemical and genetic examination and its references.
As for in the market, the dealer — however long his experience — works often on a cut piece, and relies on what the people of the craft have transmitted of descriptions of the origin, the character, and the grade. And this is a precious expertise in its domain, but it is not a botanical determination in the precise scientific sense, and it should not be presented as such. Therefore we are reserved toward everyone who is decisive to you about the species of a particular piece as though it were the result of a laboratory.
And the honesty is that it be said: the specialist himself may be reserved in being decisive when he lacks the valid sample or the documented reference, especially in the less-documented species. So if the people of specialization exercise caution, it is more fitting for the seller and the buyer to exercise it, and to deal with the name of the species as a background knowledge, not a guaranteed certificate.
5. Our position: we do not claim a laboratory examination of the species
It is from honesty that we be frank about the limits of what we do. For at Oud Treasure we do not carry out — nor do we claim that we carry out — laboratory examinations to determine the species of oud trees; we are not a taxonomic laboratory, and we will not grant you a "species certificate" built on a genetic or chemical analysis, because that is not from our work and we do not possess its tools.
What we commit to is what we can actually verify: we disclose the origin of the oud and its supply chain as we clarify on our oud sources page, and we describe its grade, and we verify its authenticity — that is, its being a natural oud, not imitated nor adulterated — by the sensory means and the practical expertise as we show on the quality control page. This is a scope at which we stand clearly, and we do not go beyond it to a claim that no laboratory supports.
And the difference is fundamental: the verification that a piece is a natural, genuine oud from a known origin and a described grade is something we do and guarantee our seriousness in; as for being decisive that it is of a particular botanical species (Aquilaria malaccensis for example and not another) is a matter that we leave to its people and do not overreach in. We prefer to be truthful to you within the limits of what we know rather than to dazzle you with a claim that is not established.
6. What does this mean for the buyer
The practical conclusion for whoever buys oud is simple and comforting: do not wait for a "species certificate" from a piece of wood, and do not make the scientific name a criterion for buying. For the botanical species is a background knowledge that enriches your understanding and fortifies you against the exaggerations, but it is not what the piece in your hands is judged by.
What the piece is judged by is what can be verified: an origin that a clear supply chain discloses, a described grade, a scent and character that you test yourself, and an authenticity that you are assured of. And this is what we guide you to step by step in how to choose an authentic Indonesian oud. And the best thing to start with is a sample by which you test the origin, the grade, and the character directly before you commit, and for this we provide the samples service.
And a last honest caution remains: the errors in the naming of oud species occur in the trade, they happen in good faith sometimes and otherwise at other times, and they have causes to which we devote an independent axis in this guide on the errors of naming (an article under preparation). So let not a shiny scientific name that is stuck onto a piece to justify a higher price deceive you; ask for the origin and the grade and test for yourself. And for the more comprehensive picture among the oud trees and their species, return to the botanical guide to the species of oud trees, and for the conclusion of the series of introducing the species review the Gyrinops salicifolia tree, with which we closed the presentation of the species one by one.
At Oud Treasure we do not sell you a "species certificate" nor a scientific name; we bring you an oud from a known origin and a described grade, whose character and authenticity you test yourself. Start with a sample before you commit.
Request a sampleBrowse Indonesian oudThe complete botanical guide- The botanical guide to the species of oud trees — the more comprehensive reference from which this article branches.
- The difference between Aquilaria and Gyrinops — why the separation is difficult even between the two sibling genera.
- Can the species be determined from the scent of the wood alone? — why the scent alone is not enough as evidence of the species.
- The methods of the morphological, chemical, and genetic examination — the detailed mechanisms of each method and its limits (an article under preparation).
