Oud - From antiquity to our days

Oud Wood has a reputation as the most expensive tree in the world, and Oud oil is one of the most expensive and oldest perfume ingredients. In the East, it has been used since time immemorial - mainly for religious ceremonies, but also as a component of perfume too. True, only sheikhs and their entourage could afford such scents.
Oud is made from a rare tropical tree - aquilaria - affected by a special fungus (parasitica Phialophora). It is also called the scarlet tree, the tree of paradise, the eagle tree, the kalambak, the agar tree, the oud tree and even the “tree of the gods' '.
The wood affected by the fungus is filled with a dark, aromatic resin. Sometimes the fungus even affects the root system of a tree, and then precious droplets of resin can also be found among its roots. The process of impregnating wood with precious resin lasts from several decades to hundreds of years.
The popular aroma of the East and Asia has been known since ancient times.
Oud oil, also called "liquid gold", has a unique aroma, considered the most powerful aphrodisiac, and is more valuable than real gold. Oud is the main component in the preparation of expensive drugs intended both for the treatment of male impotence and for increasing the libido of a healthy man. It is used in selective perfumery as a fixative.
For an unprepared person, a meeting with this aroma can be a shock, since the smell balances on the verge of the familiar and defiant, but it is worth waiting for 10-15 minutes and rejection will be replaced by delight.