Kauri gum is resin from kauri trees, which historically had several important industrial uses. It can also be used to make crafts such as jewellery. Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, before early settlers caused the forests to retreat, causing several areas to revert to weeds, scrubs, and swamps. Even afterwards, ancient kauri fields and the remaining forests continued to provide a source for the gum. Between 1820 and 1900, over 90% of Kauri forests were logged or burnt by Europeans.
A 19th-century carving of a tattooed Maori from kauri gum. The carving is owned and displayed by the Dargaville Museum, New Zealand.
Kauri gum, polished
Kauri gum, unpolished
Kauri tree in Waipoua Forest
In polymer chemistry and materials science, a resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses mainly on naturally occurring resins.
Insect trapped in resin
Cedar of Lebanon cone showing flecks of resin as used in the mummification of Egyptian Pharaohs
Extremely viscous resin extruding from the trunk of a mature Araucaria columnaris.
The material dripping from an almond tree looks confusingly like resin, but actually is a gum or mucilage, and chemically very different.
