Botanical Name : Santalum album Linn.Family : Santalaceae, The Sandalwood Family
Extents
The sandalwood tree is found in southern parts of India, Sri Lanka, Hawaii and a number of South Pacific Islands.
Tree Description
Sandalwood is a partial parasite that uses nutrients derived from hosts to grow. Nearly 300 species of hosts have been found including grasses, herbs, shrubs and trees. Sandalwood is a small evergreen tree about 20 to 30 feet high with many opposite slender drooping branches and a smooth gray-brown bark. Leaves are smooth and ovate in shape.
The light yellow colored wood is heavy and hard but splits easily. The cross section of the wood shows alternating light and dark concentric zones which give a fair idea of the age of the tree. Sandalwood has a persistent odor and a peculiar taste.
Sandalwood Flowers are small, numerous with short stalks. The flowers are found at the top of the plant. Sandalwood flowers twice very year from March to April and then from September to October.
Sandalwood Fruits are spherical, concealed and the size of a pea. The fruit is crowned by rim-like structure. It is smooth, fleshy and nearly black with single seed.
Cultivation and Production of Sandalwood/Chandan
Sandalwood is harvested by uprooting the entire tree. This way, the valuable wood from the stump and root can also be sold or processed for oil. The branches are worthless. The trunk is left on the ground for a few months so that white ants could eat away the worthless outer wood - sap wood. The stump is then trimmed and sent to saw mills. There it is trimmed again and graded(according to quality).
Indian sandalwood is an endangered species so its cultivation and production is under government control. Commercially valuable sandalwood has high levels of fragrance oils and is harvested at the age of 40. However, 80 years or an age above this is preferred. Inferior sandalwood produced from trees of 30 years can also fetch a decent price due to high demand for real sandalwood.