Santalum
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 The branches of a young sandalwood tree found in Hawaii.
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Santalum is a genus of woody flowering plants, the most well known and commercially valuable of which is the Indian Sandalwood tree, S. album. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasites which photosynthesize their own food but tap the roots of other species for water and inorganic nutrients. Several species, most notably S. album, produce highly aromatic wood, used for scents and perfumes and for herbal medicine. There are approximately 25 species, ranging across the Indomalaya, Australasia, and Oceania ecozones, from India across Malesia to the Pacific Islands, as far as Hawaii and the Juan Fernandez Islands off the coast of South America.
Indian Sandalwood (S. album) is found in the tropical dry deciduous forests of India, the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, and Arnhem Land of northern Australia. It is the only species found on the Asian mainland, and may have been introduced to India from the Lesser Sundas centuries ago. Indian Sandalwood has been stripped from most of India's forests, and is now rare in the wild. Five species, including S. album, are native to Australia. S. acuminatum, known as the sweet quandong or native peach, produces a shiny bright red fruit used increasingly in Australia for jams, jellies, chutneys and in pies. Four species, commonly called 'iliahi, are endemic to Hawaii. S. fernandezianum, endemic to the Juan Fernandez Islands off the coast of Chile, was overexploited for its aromatic wood, and may now be extinct.
Santalum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita malabaricus.
[edit] Cultivation
There are numerous initial challenges to cultivating Santalum, not only due to its germination and growth needs, but also the amount of growing time required for the tree to properly mature. Germination of Santalum seeds is not completely understood. Seeds cannot be effectively stored, and must be planted upon harvesting them from a fruiting tree. Even in doing this, the seeds may not germinate. As such, growing saplings can be quite labour intensive.
Furthermore, although Santalum trees photosynthesizes on their own, the trees are semi-parasitic, with roots that seek out and tap the root systems of surrounding trees for water and nutrients. As such each sapling be grown together next to four to five host trees. Pruning of host trees are also needed at times since they require much sunlight.
To produce commercially valuable sandalwood with high levels of fragrance oils, the trees have to be at least 40 years of age but 80 or above is preferred. As such, those who begin cultivation of Santalum will not live to reap the rewards of their work. However, inferior sandalwood that has been cut or toppled at 30 years old can still fetch a decent price due to the demand for real sandalwood.
Beyond these initial difficulties, growing sandalwood-producing Santalum is not difficult since it becomes more resistant to environmental stresses, pest, and disease as it matures.
[edit] Species
- S. acuminatum (Desert Quandong, Sweet Quandong, Native Peach) — Australia
- S. album (Indian Sandalwood, White Sandalwood, Chandana) — India, Indonesia, northern Australia
- S. ellipticum ('iliahi, 'iliahialo'e, Coast Sandalwood) — Hawaii
- S. fernandezianum — Juan Fernandez Islands
- S. freycinetianum ('iliahi) — Hawaii
- S. haleakalae ('iliahi) — Hawaii
- S. lanceolatum (Northern Sandalwood) — Australia
- S. murrayanum (Bitter Quandong) — Australia
- S. obtusifolium — Australia
- S. paniculatum ('iliahi) — Hawaii
- S. salicifolium (Willowleaf Sandalwood)
- S. spicatum (Australian sandalwood) — Australia
