PlantFiles: White Sandalwood, Chandana
Santalum album

Santalum album is a hemi-parasite, which means that it must parasitize the roots of other plants to be successful.
It preferrs to be grown alongside leguminous plants such as Acacias, Casuarinas or any other leguminous tree or shrub.

Sesbania formosa is an ideal intermediate host which it will eventually kill in around 3 to 5 years. This gives its long term host time to establish. Plant spacings are; Intermediate host/sandalwood at 0.5metre and these pairs 3.0m spacing along a row. Long term host such as Pterocarpus indicus planted in between these. Row spacings are 4.0 metres.

Do not plant within 25 metres of plants you do not want held back. It will eventually kill citrus trees.It is mainly grown for the valuable oil which is extracted from the heartwood and used in the perfume industry.

Young seedlings are easilly killed by drought. Once established, it is fairly drought tolerant. It can tolerate long hot summers and mild frost. Normally grows in tropical areas that have around three months of monsoonal wet in summer. Average rainfall from 800mm to 1800mm per annum.

Seeds are best planted well into spring or early summer when night time temperatures are above 23C. The seeds should be soaked in Gibberellic acid at the rate of 0.01grams per litre ofcool boiled water.

Native to the southern regions of India, growing best on dry, stony, but fertile soils. Other species widely scattered from the Malay Archipelago to Australia and the Pacific islands including Hawaii. A small tree up to about 25 to 40 ft in height, with trunk diameters usually 4 to 6 in. Heartwood light yellowish brown when freshly cut, turning dark brown on exposure, and with further aging, to a dark reddish brown; sapwood whitish. Texture very fine and even; grain straight, sometimes wavy; dull to somewhat lustrous, with oily feel; heartwood with a strong fragrant scent that persists, without characteristic taste.

The little berries are a favourite to birds and the flowers are purplish and nearly inconspicuous.