Santalaceae FAMILY
Santalum insulare marchionense
Santalum insulare marchionense
Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—
A semi-parasitic plant, obtaining some of its nutriment from the roots of other plants[1]. The plant has green leaves containing chlorophyll, and is thus able to photosynthesize - it relies on host plants only for water and soil nutrients, not for sugars, which it can produce itself [2]. In a natural situation, the plant seems to rely on nitrogen fixing trees such as Acacia and Casuarina, though it is known to parasitize many other legumes, shrubs, herbs and grasses[2]. It normally has more than one host at a time[2].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Santalum+insulare+marchionense>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Wild Food in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · Fontana · 1976 · ISBN 0-00-634436-4 ↩︎A very good pocket guide.
- [2]Growing Native Plants — Australian National Botanic Gardens · http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/ ↩︎A series of articles giving details of cultivation and matters of general interest (including a few plant uses) on over 250 Australian plants.
- [3]Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands — Elevitch. Craig. R. (Editor) · Permanent Agriculture Resources, Hawaii · 2006 · ISBN 0970254458 ↩︎Beautifully produced book with superb photos and detailed information on over 50 species of useful plants of the Pacific Islands.
- [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.