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Santalum album
Also called Indian Sandalwood, East Indian Sandalwood, White Sandalwood, White Saunders, Yellow Sandalwood, Yellow Saunders
Santalum album is a small evergreen tropical tree, the traditional source of sandalwood oil, grown for its fragrant heartwood. It is a partial root parasite that needs a host tree nearby to grow well, especially when young.
Santalum album is a small tropical tree, and the traditional source of sandalwood oil. It is native to Indonesia (Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands), the Philippines, and Western Australia. It is commonly known as the white sandalwood or Indian sandalwood. It was one of the plants exploited by Austronesian arboriculture and it was introduced by Austronesian sailors to Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia, during the ancient spice trade, becoming naturalized in South India by at least 1300 BCE. It was greatly valued for its fragrance, and is considered sacred in some religions like Hinduism. The high value of the species has caused over-exploitation, to the point where the wild population is vulnerable to extinction.
Sandalwood is originally native to dry areas in India, Indonesia (Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands), the Philippines, and Western Australia, where it is found with close congeners. It was introduced very early (c. 1500 BCE) into Dravidian regions of South Asia via the Austronesian maritime spice trade, along with other Austronesian domesticates like areca nut and coconuts. It first appears in archaeological records in South Asia in the southern Deccan by 1300 BCE. It became naturalized in these regions where dry sandy soils are common.
S. album has been the primary source of sandalwood and the derived oil. These often hold an important place in the societies of their naturalised distribution range. The central part of the tree, the heartwood, is the only part of the tree that is used for its fragrance. It is yellow-brown in colour, hard with an oily texture and due to its durability, is a preferred material for carving. The outer part of the tree, the sapwood, is unscented. The sapwood is white or yellow in colour and is used to make turnery items. The high value of sandalwood has led to attempts at cultivation, this has increased the distribution range of the plant. It was valued in construction, since it was considered rot-proof.
Sweet Quandong · Ankwerley · Australian sandalwood · Sandalwood
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Santalum album by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
