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The term "elemi" has been applied in the past to a large number of oleoresins from a variety of geographic and botanical sources (see PLANT SOURCES below). Nowadays, however, the term is almost always used to describe the product from the Philippines, Manila elemi, which is the only one that is traded internationally, and most of the rest of the discussion focuses on this.
Manila elemi is the soft, fragrant oleoresin obtained from the trunk of ''Canarium'' species, the most important of which is ''C. Canarium luzonicum''. When fresh, the oleoresin is oily and pale yellow or greenish in colour, resembling crystallized honey in consistency, but on exposure to air it loses some of the volatile constituents and hardens. It has a balsamic odour and a spicy, rather bitter taste.
In the forest areas where it is collected it is rolled in leaves and used for lighting purposes, but in commerce it is used mainly by the fragrance industry after distillation of the essential oil. It still finds occasional use as an ingredient in lacquers and varnishes, where it gives toughness and elasticity to the dried film.
=== Supply sources ===
Although the source of Manila elemi, ''C. Canarium luzonicum'', occurs on other islands in the Pacific (where it may have potential for exploitation; see DEVELOPMENTAL POTENTIAL), the Philippines are the only source of internationally traded elemi. Export figures are as given in Table 27.
=== Quality and prices ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
|''[[Canarium luzonicum]]'' (B1.) A. Gray<br>(syn. ''C. Canarium polyanthum'' Perkins, C. Canarium ''olignanthum'' Merrill) ||Pili, piling-liitan (resin: elemi, sahing, brea blanca)
|-
|''C. [[Canarium ovatum]]'' Engl. || Pili nut
|-
|''C. [[Canarium indicum]]'' L. (syn. ''C. commune'' L., ''C. amboinense'' Hochr.) || Java almond, kenari nut, ngali nut
|-
|''C. [[Canarium schweinfurthii]]'' Engl. ||
|}
''C. Canarium luzonicum'' is probably the only source of commercially traded Manila elemi, although ''C. Canarium ovatum, C. Canarium indicum'' and ''C. Canarium schweinfurthii'' are known to produce resin which is, or has been, used locally. Other species of ''Canarium'' undoubtedly produce resin if wounded.
Other genera which yield gums or resins which have been traded in the past as elemis include ''Protium'' (which produces "breu branco" or Brazilian elemi), ''Amyris'' (Mexican elemi) and ''Dacryodes'' (West Indian elemi). They are not discussed further.
=== Description and distribution ===
''Canarium'' is a genus of big shade trees in the Old World tropics, chiefly Malaysia to the Philippines, but extending to Papua New Guinea and other Pacific islands, which are often highly prized for their edible fruits and nuts. ''C. Canarium luzonicum'' is a large tree up to 35 m tall and 1 m in diameter. It is found in primary forests at low and medium elevations in Luzon and some other islands of the Philippines.
''C. Canarium ovatum'' is a large, buttressed tree, reaching up to 20 m in height, and native to the Philippines.
''C. Canarium indicum'' reaches as high as 40 m and occurs in parts of Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and other islands in the Pacific.
''C. Canarium schweinfurthii'' grows to 50 m in height and is found outside the usual ''Canarium'' region, in tropical West and Central Africa. In the past it has been an occasional source of "African elemi".
== PRODUCTS OTHER THAN RESIN ==
Although usually restricted to local use, many species of ''Canarium'' are used as sources of edible fruits and nuts, and provide valuable fat and protein in the diets of very many people in the Pacific region. The Chinese olive, from ''C. Canarium album'', is exceptional in being exported to other regions of Southeast Asia and, occasionally, further afield. Recent work in the Solomon Islands on the ngali nut (from ''C. Canarium indicum'' var. ''indicum'') has shown this, too, to have considerable promise as an export item, although it is not known whether the tree is also a potential source of resin.
It has been suggested that the essential oil of ''C. Canarium luzonicum'' could be blended with diesel oil and used as a motor fuel, but at the moment this application remains speculative.
== DEVELOPMENTAL POTENTIAL ==
''C. Canarium ovatum'' and some other resin-yielding species of ''Canarium'' are already grown as sources of fruits and nuts and integration with resin tapping would be a welcome development,
Some work to develop improved varieties of ''Canarium'' for fruit and nut production has already been carried out, and since cultivation for this purpose is likely to remain the primary activity, research on resin production should be complementary to that on fruit and nuts. Several aspects need to be researched:
*Comparative evaluation of different Canarium species for dual purpose fruit/nut and oleoresin production. Although ''C. Canarium luzonicum'' is the present source of Manila elemi, its productivity should be compared (in terms of both fruits and oleoresin) with ''C. Canarium ovatum'', ''C. Canarium indicum'' and, possibly, other species, to determine which might offer the best combination for maximizing economic returns. As a first step, however, a laboratory and trade assessment of the resin from each species should be made to determine whether the non-traditional elemis would be acceptable in the market-place. *Germplasm screening for elite planting stock. As has been noted elsewhere with other gum and resin-yielding species, natural populations of ''Canarium'' (particularly ''C. Canarium luzonicum'') should be screened to determine provenance and tree-to-tree variation in oleoresin yield and composition. *Improved methods of tapping. This should draw on experience in the gum naval stores (pine tapping) field and include an examination of the use of cups (such as coconut shells) to collect the resin which runs down the tree in order to produce a cleaner product.
== SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ==
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