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Polynesian Sandalwood

Santalum insulare

Also called Rapan Sandalwood

Polynesian Sandalwood is a small shrub or tree native to islands of the south-central Pacific, valued for its fragrant heartwood. It is a root parasite, so it needs host plants nearby to grow well.

Family
Santalaceae (Santal family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly once established; avoid waterlogged soil.
Soil
Well-drained soil, sandy or loamy.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Hard
Native range
SC. Pacific
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Santalum insulare is a species of flowering plant in family Santalaceae. It is a shrub or tree native to the south-central Pacific, including the Cook Islands, Marquesas Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Society Islands, and Tubuai Islands.

Seven varieties are recognized:

Other Santalum plants

Sweet Quandong · Sandalwood · Coral Sea Sandalwood · Santalum boninense · Coastal sandalwood · Santalum fernandezianum · Forest sandalwood · Haleakala sandalwood · Ankwerley · Santalum macgregorii · Bitter Quandong · Santalum obtusifolium

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Santalum insulare 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.

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