Dammar gum is obtained from the Dipterocarpaceae family of trees in India and East Asia, principally those of the genera Shorea, Balanocarpus or Hopea. Most is produced by tapping trees, however, some is collected in fossilized form from the ground. The gum varies in colour from clear to pale yellow, while the fossilized form is grey-brown. Dammar gum is a triterpenoid resin, containing a large number of triterpenes and their oxidation products.