Sandalwood Tree (Santalum Album)

Sandalwood  Tree

Hindi Name – Chandan

Sanskrit Name – Chandana 

Botanical Name – Santalum Album(White Sandal)   

The Indian Sandalwood tree is a small tree & comes in the fragrant category. Sandalwood tree is cultivated in Southern parts of India & very high in demand. Sandalwood has great commercial value too. The sandalwood tree is from the Santalaceae family. Sandalwood belongs to India & south-east Asia. "Plantation of Sandalwood trees is controlled & taken care of by the government in India. The export of sandalwood is illegal in India".

One has to seek written permission of forest authorities to grow sandalwood you shall not cut the tree of your own as it is illegal. 

You may inform forest authorities once the tree is mature if you want to sell it.

Indian Sandalwood tree height goes up to sixty feet in height & more, diameter three to four feet.

Drained soil is recommended for the cultivation of sandalwood trees though it can grow in any type of soil. Standing water shall be avoided for sandalwood as it could not resist the logged water.

Sandalwood can be sown by seed & the seed germinates in one to two months depending on the weather conditions. It can be grown by tree saplings too & sapling holds roots within few weeks. 

Later the grownup plant may be shifted to another location. Sandal plant is always placed near to the host tree so as it can take its essentials from the host tree. Sandalwood tree starts to flower in the fourth year of cultivation.

Sandalwood leaves are greenish-yellow in color, & three inches long & one half inch wide. Leaves surface give a leathery look & shape like a fern.

Sandalwood trees bloom two times in the year March & September. Initially color of the sandalwood flowers is white, with the maturity of the tree the flowers change color orange-red.

Sandal tree wood starts to give fragrance at the age of ten years & gets mature fully in thirty years. Sandalwood retains its fragrance for years & years. Furniture made of Sandalwood is very good at the quality & last for years. Red Sandalwood is famous for its furniture. Even toys are also made from the red sandalwood & high in demand in the international market.

In Ayurveda sandal plays a great role & used in many beauty treatments: sandal powder makes the skin glow, it cleans tan & dark spots on the skin, it gives a cooling effect on the skin & it is an antiseptic too. 

Sandalwood oil has an aromatic fragrance. Its smell is very soothing & used as a fragrance in offices, restaurants & spas. It is good in treating common cold & headache. Sandalwood oil has high commercial value & in high demand in markets too due to low productivity.