Gyrinops is a genus of nine species of trees, called lign aloes or lign-aloes trees, in the family Thymelaeaceae.[1] They are native to Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.
The genus Gyrinops is closely related to Aquilaria and in the past all species were considered to belong to Aquilaria.[2]
Together with Aquilaria the genus is best known as the principal producer of the resin-suffused agarwood.[3][4] The depletion of wild trees from indiscriminate cutting for agarwood has resulted in the trees being listed and protected as an endangered species.[5][4][3]
Projects are currently underway in some countries in southeast Asia to infect cultivated trees artificially to produce agarwood in a sustainable manner.[5] In Indonesia, for example, there have been proposals to encourage the planting of gahara, as it is known as locally, in eastern Indonesia, particularly in the province of Papua.[6]