Elemi is a tropical tree up to 30m high that yields a resinous pathological exudation with a pungent odour. Although it is called a gum, it is almost entirely made up of resin and essential oil. Essential oil is extracted by steam distillation from the gum. Native to the Philippine Islands and the Moluccas, where it is also cultivated. It is also closely related to the trees yielding myrrh, frankincense and opoponax. There are several other species of Canarium that grow wild or are cultivated in the Phillipines and also yield a ’gum’. The oil is commercially used in pharmaceutical industries.