sandalwood

Sandalwood is a class of

wood

s from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for use. Sandalwood is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world. Both the wood and the oil produce a distinctive fragrance that has been highly valued for centuries. Consequently, some species of these slow-growing trees have suffered over-harvesting in the past.

Nomenclature

The

nomenclature

and the taxonomy of the genus are derived from this species' historical and widespread use. Etymologically it is ultimately derived from Sanskrit चन्दनं ''Chandanam'' (''čandana-m''), the sandalwood tree, meaning "wood for burning incense" and related to ''candrah'', "shining, glowing" and the Latin ''candere'', to shine or glow. It arrived in English via Late Greek, Medieval Latin and Old French in the 14th or 15th century.

True sandalwoods

Sandalwoods are medium-sized

hemiparasitic

trees, and part of the same botanical family as European

mistletoe

. Notable members of this group are Indian sandalwood (''Santalum album'') and Australian sandalwood (''Santalum spicatum''); others in the genus also have fragrant wood. These are found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Indonesia, Hawaii, and other

Pacific Islands

.
* '' S. album'' is a threatened species indigenous to South India, and grows in the

Western Ghats

and a few other mountain ranges such as the Kalrayan and Shevaroy Hills. Although sandalwood trees in India, Pakistan, and Nepal are government-owned and their harvest is controlled, many trees are illegally cut down. Sandalwood oil prices have risen to $3000 per liter recently. Red sanders is endemic to Seshachalam, Veliganda, Lankamala, and Palakonda hill ranges, distributed in districts of

Kadapa

, Chittoor, and

Kurnool

in

Rayalaseema

region and parts of Nellore and Prakasam in

Andhra Pradesh

, Mysore region of

Karnataka

(formerly Mysore State), and Marayoor forest in

Kerala

,

Southern India

, is high in quality. New

plantation

s were created with international aid in

Tamil Nadu

for economic exploitation. In Kununurra in Western Australia, Indian sandalwood is grown on a large scale. This species is the primary source of sandalwood used in commercial oil production and should not be confused with West Indian Sandalwood, ''Amyris balsamifera''.
* '' S. ellipticum'', '' S. freycinetianum'', and '' S. paniculatum'', the

Hawaii

an sandalwood (''iliahi''), were also used and considered high quality. These three species were exploited between 1790 and 1825 before the supply of trees ran out (a fourth species, '' S. haleakalae'', occurs only in subalpine areas and was never exported). Although ''S. freycinetianum'' and ''S. paniculatum'' are relatively common today, they have not regained their former abundance or size, and ''S. ellipticum'' remains rare.
* ''

S. yasi

'', a sandalwood from Fiji and Tonga.
* '' S. spicatum'' is used by

aromatherapists

and perfumers. The oil concentration differs considerably from other ''Santalum'' species. In the 1840s, sandalwood was Western Australia’s biggest export earner. Oil was distilled for the first time in 1875, and by the turn of the 20th century, production of Australian sandalwood oil was intermittent. However, in the late 1990s, Western Australian sandalwood oil enjoyed a revival and by 2009 had peaked at more than per year – much of which went to the fragrance industries in Europe. Although overall production has decreased, by 2011, a significant percentage of its production was heading to the chewing tobacco industry in India alongside Indian sandalwood – the chewing tobacco market being the largest market for both oils in 2012.
* Other species: Commercially, various other species, not belonging to ''Santalum'' species, are also used as sandalwood.

Unrelated plants

Various unrelated plants with scented wood and also referred to as sandalwood, but not in the true sandalwood genus:
*''

Adenanthera pavonina

'' – sandalwood tree, red or false red sandalwood
*''Baphia nitida'' – camwood, also known as African sandalwood
*''

Eremophila mitchellii

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