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Santalaceae FAMILY

Santalum spicatum

Santalum spicatum

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub
Growth—

A plant of drier, lowland areas in the tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations from sea level to 500 metres[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 32 - 38°c, but can tolerate 7 - 45°c[2]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -4°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at 0°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 200 - 400mm, but tolerates 150 - 500mm[2]. Prefers a sunny position, but can tolerate some shade[1]. Succeeds on a variety of soils from calcareous red earths to red earthy sands in Western Australia to solonized brown soils and shallow calcareous loamy soils in South Australia[1]. Tolerates soil salinity[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7[2]. Requires a well drained soil[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[2]. The plant is partially parasitic and relies on host plants for only water and soil nutrients, not for sugars, which is why such it has green leaves and photosynthesizes[3]. Sandalwood trees are a root parasite on many species[1]. Some common recognized hosts are Eucalyptus salubris, Eucalyptus loxophleba, Casuarina cristata subsp. Pauper, Acacia aneura, Atriplex vesicaria, Pittosporum phillyreoides, Acacia acuminata, Senna siamea and Pongamia pinnata[1]. It normally has more than one host at a time[3]. Flowering is sporadic because of the irregular rainfall in most areas where the plant grows. Flowers are carrion-scented and nectariferous, attracting a wide range of insect pollinators[1]. Plants do not usually survive fires in the wild[1]. The estimated maturation time for the sandalwood in Kalgoorlie District, Australia is 50 - 100 years[1]. Sandalwood is harvested by uprooting trees from the ground[1]. The roots, stems and large branches are all utilized down to 2.5 cm diameter, dead sandalwood stems are also used[1].

Propagation

Seed - mechanical scarification improves germination rates[1]. In the wild, the seed germinates after extremes in temperature and rainfall[1]. Field studies indicate that only 1 - 5% of the seeds germinate[1]. The rate of germination is higher in reserves and protected research and plantation areas, but is still less than 20%[1]. Establishment of the plant on an operational and plantation scale can be achieved by sowing 4 seeds per spot in well drained sites, 50 - 70 mm below the soil and mulching in a small depression at the drip line of the south side of a suitable host plant[1]. The seedlings tend to die if their roots fail to attach to suitable hosts. The deaths therefore may be due to the inability to obtain some type of element for which the host is essential or the inability to take up sufficient nutrients to maintain growth[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Santalum+spicatum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Florabase — https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/ ↩︎An excellent on-line database of Western Australian plants
  7. [7]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.