RAJA KAYU
Scientific name: Agathis alba syn. Agathis dammara
Other names: King of wood, Dragonblood wood, Red agathis, Amboina pine
Agathis dammara is an evergreen tree belonging to the family Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammara. It is a medium-large conifer up to 60 metres in height, native to Sulawesi, the Maluku Islands and the Philippines, growing in tropical rainforests from sea level to very high mountainous regions where it becomes extremely stunted.
Agathis dammara belongs to the southern hemisphere family Araucariaceae, widespread throughout the entire Mesozoic, emerging about 200 million years ago. This tree is a source of dammar gum, also known as cat-eye resin.
Agathis dammara from Wikimedia Commons, by Franz Eugen Köhler.
Agathis species are distinctive, highly sought and exploited for their valuable timber, and Agathis dammara is listed as vulnerable.
In Southeast Asia, the tree is called raja kayu and it's wood is considered to have magical properties; in Malaysia, the indigenous people have long used wood from the raja kayu for powerful protective charms and amulets. Raja kayu is also used to make Buddhist prayer beads.
Once the raja kayu wood becomes saturated with resin, it gains a lovely reddish orange colour and becomes chatoyant, having a changeable luster/color. The resin-rich parts also gain translucency, allowing light to pass through. High-quality raja kayu will sink in water.
Translucency of raja kayu. Image from IndonesiaExotic (Etsy), who have some nice raja kayu beads for sale.
🔴 Agathis dammara in the Gymnosperm Database
🔴 Agathis (kauri) genus in the Wood Database
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