Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted australian hand pies the woods for use. The nomenclature and the taxonomy of the genus are derived from this species’ historical and widespread use.

Latin candere, to shine or glow. Sandalwoods are medium-sized hemiparasitic trees, and part of the same botanical family as European mistletoe. Sandalwood is indigenous to the tropical belt of the peninsular India, Malay Archipelago and northern Australia. The main distribution is in the drier tropical regions of India and the Indonesian islands of Timor and Sumba. In India, the principal sandal tracts are most parts of Karnataka and adjoining districts of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The oil concentration differs considerably from other Santalum species.

In the 1840s, sandalwood was Western Australia’s biggest export earner. Oil was distilled for the first time in 1875, and by the turn of the 20th century, production of Australian sandalwood oil was intermittent. Other species: Commercially, various other species, not belonging to Santalum species, are also used as sandalwood. Australia is the largest producer of S. Western Australia, where it has been an important part of the economy since colonial times.

Sandalwood is expensive compared to other types of woods, so to maximize profit, sandalwood is harvested by removing the entire tree instead of sawing it down at the trunk close to ground level. This way wood from the stump and root, which possesses high levels of sandalwood oil, can also be processed and sold. Australian sandalwood is mostly harvested and sold in log form, graded for heartwood content. The species is unique in that the white sapwood does not require removal before distilling the oil. The logs are either processed to distill the essential oil, or made into powders for making incense.

Sandalwood is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world, along with African blackwood, pink ivory, agarwood and ebony. Sandalwood oil has a distinctive soft, warm, smooth, creamy, and milky precious-wood scent. Its quality and scent profile is greatly influenced by the age of the tree, location and the skill of the distiller. It imparts a long-lasting, woody base to perfumes from the oriental, woody, fougère, and chypre families, as well as a fixative to floral and citrus fragrances.