{"id":13267,"date":"2023-08-30T11:33:39","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T18:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/?post_type=pal&p=13267"},"modified":"2024-03-30T11:40:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T18:40:39","slug":"plant-source-of-fragrant-oud","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/plant-source-of-fragrant-oud\/","title":{"rendered":"the plant source of fragrant oud"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am reading a book set in India, and the word \u2018oud\u2019 is used to describe a substance used for fragrance inside a house. Is it from a plant? Is it related to the musical instrument?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oud<\/em> is one name for a fragrance derived from an evergreen tree called Aquilaria<\/a>, <\/em>also known as aloeswood, aloes, eaglewood, or the Wood of the Gods. There are a number of species, and several are listed as threatened or endangered (primarily because of overharvesting to meet high demand). The tree is called agar<\/em> in Hindi (agarbati<\/em>, the word for incense, means \u2018lighted aloeswood\u2019). Small chips of the wood are burned to release the resinous aroma, and have the added benefit of repelling mosquitos. The resin can also be processed into an essential oil. The fragrance has been used (in ritual and as a sign of status) since as far back in time as 1400 B.C.E., in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, China, and India. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Song of Songs<\/em><\/a> and Psalms<\/em>, in ancient Indian Vedas<\/em>, in the Materia Medica<\/em> of Dioscorides (65 C.E.), and Buddhist and Islamic texts.<\/p>\n

Stress or damage<\/a> to the tree is the reason the wood is so aromatic. According to Elise Pearlstine\u2019s Scent: A Natural History of Perfume <\/em><\/a>(Yale University, 2022), \u201cthey are not important timber trees [\u2026] but sometimes a tiny invading fungus, a small injury, or perhaps a boring insect sets in motion a mysterious protective process that produces a dark and aromatic resinous feathered pattern within the living wood.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word \u2018oud<\/em> <\/a>literally means wood, and it is also the source of the name of the wooden stringed instrument. In fact, the English word lute and its European variants are also derived from \u2018oud<\/em>, by combining the Arabic definite article al <\/em>with \u2018oud<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Aquilaria<\/a>, <\/span>Aromatic plants<\/a>, <\/span>Wood<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am reading a book set in India, and the word \u2018oud\u2019 is used to describe a substance used for fragrance inside a house. Is it from a plant? Is it related to the musical instrument? Oud is one name for a fragrance derived from an evergreen tree called Aquilaria, also known as aloeswood, aloes, eaglewood, or the Wood of the Gods. There are a number of species, and several are listed as threatened or endangered (primarily because of overharvesting…<\/p>\n

Continue reading the plant source of fragrant oud<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[1186,381,1022],"class_list":["post-13267","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-aquilaria","keyword-aromatic-plants","keyword-wood"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/13267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=13267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}