Vasilis Teodoridis:
Thymelaeaceae | Aquilaria
1. Aquilaria sinensis (Loureiro) Sprengel; Syst. Veg. 2: 356. 1825.
??? tu chen xiang
Ophispermum sinense Loureiro; Fl. Cochinch. 1: 281. 1790; Agallochum sinense (Loureiro) Kuntze; Aquilaria grandiflora Bentham; A. ophispermum Poiret.
Trees 5-15 m tall. Bark dark gray; smooth; branchlets terete; rugose; puberulous; glabrescent. Petiole 5-7 mm; pubescent; leaf blade dark or purple-green; glossy adaxially; light green abaxially; orbicular or elliptic to oblong; sometimes obovate; 5-9 x 2.8-6 cm; leathery; both surfaces glabrous; but sometimes puberulous along margin; base broadly cuneate; apex acuminate or acute; apiculate; lateral veins 15-20 pairs; more conspicuous abaxially; veins and veinlets slender; subparallel; obscure. Inflorescence terminal; a loose panicle of umbels; many flowered. Flowers fragrant at night; pedicel 5-10 mm; densely yellow-gray pubescent. Calyx yellowish green; tube narrowly campanulate; 5-6 mm; exterior and interior densely pubescent; lobes 5; ovate; 3-5 mm; both surfaces pubescent; apex rounded and obtuse; or acute. Petaloid appendages 10; scalelike; inserted at throat of tube; obviously densely pilose at anthesis. Stamens 10; filaments ca. 1 mm; anthers linear-oblong; ca. 1.5 mm. Ovary ovoid; densely grayish white hairy; style obsolete or nearly so; stigma capitate. Capsule shortly stipitate; ovoid; 2-3 x ca. 2 cm; densely yellow pubescent; base tapering; apex apiculate; pericarp thin; smooth when dried. Seeds dark brown; ovoid; ca. 10 x 7.5 mm; white sericeous or glabrous; funicle conspicuous; ca. 1.5 x 0.4 cm; longer than seed; tapered at base; broad and compressed below seed. Fl. spring-summer; fr. summer-autumn.
? Lowland forests; sunny places on slopes or along roadsides. Fujian; Guangdong; Guangxi; Hainan.
Aquilaria sinensis has been very heavily exploited and is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. The bark is used to make paper; the heart wood is prized for its fragrance.
Vasilis Teodoridis:
Thymelaeaceae | Aquilaria
1. Aquilaria sinensis (Loureiro) Sprengel; Syst. Veg. 2: 356. 1825.
??? tu chen xiang
Ophispermum sinense Loureiro; Fl. Cochinch. 1: 281. 1790; Agallochum sinense (Loureiro) Kuntze; Aquilaria grandiflora Bentham; A. ophispermum Poiret.
Trees 5-15 m tall. Bark dark gray; smooth; branchlets terete; rugose; puberulous; glabrescent. Petiole 5-7 mm; pubescent; leaf blade dark or purple-green; glossy adaxially; light green abaxially; orbicular or elliptic to oblong; sometimes obovate; 5-9 x 2.8-6 cm; leathery; both surfaces glabrous; but sometimes puberulous along margin; base broadly cuneate; apex acuminate or acute; apiculate; lateral veins 15-20 pairs; more conspicuous abaxially; veins and veinlets slender; subparallel; obscure. Inflorescence terminal; a loose panicle of umbels; many flowered. Flowers fragrant at night; pedicel 5-10 mm; densely yellow-gray pubescent. Calyx yellowish green; tube narrowly campanulate; 5-6 mm; exterior and interior densely pubescent; lobes 5; ovate; 3-5 mm; both surfaces pubescent; apex rounded and obtuse; or acute. Petaloid appendages 10; scalelike; inserted at throat of tube; obviously densely pilose at anthesis. Stamens 10; filaments ca. 1 mm; anthers linear-oblong; ca. 1.5 mm. Ovary ovoid; densely grayish white hairy; style obsolete or nearly so; stigma capitate. Capsule shortly stipitate; ovoid; 2-3 x ca. 2 cm; densely yellow pubescent; base tapering; apex apiculate; pericarp thin; smooth when dried. Seeds dark brown; ovoid; ca. 10 x 7.5 mm; white sericeous or glabrous; funicle conspicuous; ca. 1.5 x 0.4 cm; longer than seed; tapered at base; broad and compressed below seed. Fl. spring-summer; fr. summer-autumn.
? Lowland forests; sunny places on slopes or along roadsides. Fujian; Guangdong; Guangxi; Hainan.
Aquilaria sinensis has been very heavily exploited and is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. The bark is used to make paper; the heart wood is prized for its fragrance.