Santalum

Santalum
Santalum
The branches of a young Santalum paniculatum on the island of Hawaiʻi.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Santalaceae
Genus: Santalum
L.
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Eucarya T.Mitch.
  • Fusanus L.

Santalum is a genus of woody flowering plants, the best known and commercially valuable of which is the Indian Sandalwood tree, S. album. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasites which photosynthesize their own food but tap the roots of other species for water and inorganic nutrients. Several species, most notably S. album, produce highly aromatic wood, used for scents and perfumes and for herbal medicine. There are approximately 25 species, ranging across the Indomalaya, Australasia, and Oceania ecozones, from India through Malesia to the Pacific Islands, as far as Hawaiʻi and the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of South America.

Indian Sandalwood (S. album) is found in the tropical dry deciduous forests of India, the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, and Arnhem Land of northern Australia. It is the only species found on the Asian mainland, and may have been introduced to India from the Lesser Sundas centuries ago. Indian Sandalwood has been stripped from most of India's forests, and is now rare in the wild. Five species, including S. album, are native to Australia. S. acuminatum, known as the sweet quandong or native peach, produces a shiny bright red fruit used increasingly in Australia for jams, jellies, chutneys and in pies. Four species, commonly called ʻiliahi, are endemic to Hawaiʻi. S. fernandezianum, endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of Chile, was overexploited for its aromatic wood, and may now be extinct.

Santalum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita malabaricus.

Contents

Nomenclature and taxonomy

Cultivation

There are numerous initial challenges to cultivating Santalum, not only due to its germination and growth needs, but also the amount of growing time required for the tree to properly mature. Germination of Santalum seeds is not completely understood. Seeds cannot be effectively stored, and must be planted upon harvesting them from a fruiting tree. Even in doing this, the seeds may not germinate. As such, growing saplings can be quite labour intensive.

Furthermore, although Santalum trees photosynthesizes on their own, the trees are semi-parasitic, with roots that seek out and tap the root systems of surrounding trees for water and nutrients. As such each sapling are usually grown together next to four to five host trees. Pruning of host trees are also needed at times since Santalum trees require much sunlight for growth.

To produce commercially valuable sandalwood with high levels of fragrance oils, the trees have to be at least 40 years of age but 80 or above is preferred. As such, those who begin cultivation of Santalum will not live to reap the rewards of their work. However, inferior sandalwood that has been cut or toppled at 30 years old can still fetch a decent price due to the demand for real sandalwood.

Beyond these initial difficulties, growing sandalwood-producing Santalum is not difficult since it becomes more resistant to environmental stresses, pest, and disease as it matures.

Species

References

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Santalum — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda ? Santalum Rama de árbol de sándalo en Hawaii. Clasificación científica …   Wikipedia Español

  • Santalum — Santalum …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Santalum — San ta*lum, n. [NL. See {Sandalwood}.] (Bot.) A genus of trees with entire opposite leaves and small apetalous flowers. There are less than a dozen species, occurring from India to Australia and the Pacific Islands. See {Sandalwood}. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Santălum — (S. L.), Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Santalaceae, 4. Kl. 1. Ordn. L.; Arten : S. album L., Baum mit kleinen, gelbrothen Blumen, in Ostindien, auf Timor u. den Kleinen Sundainseln, Mutterpflanze des weißen u. gelben Sandelholzes; S.… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Santălum — L. (Sandelholzbaum), Gattung der Santalazeen, immergrüne, halbparasitische Bäume und Sträucher mit lederartigen, kahlen, gegenständigen, seltener wechselständigen, ganzrandigen Blättern und relativ großen Blüten, meist in achsel oder endständigen …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Santalum — Santălum L., Pflazengattg. der Santalazeen, Bäume mit immergrünen, lederartigen Blättern. Von einigen Arten stammt das Sandelholz (s.d.) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Santalum — Santalum …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Santalum — ? Сантал Ветка молодого санталового дерева, Гавайи Научная классификация Царство: Растения Отдел: Покрытосеменные Класс …   Википедия

  • Santalum — noun parasitic trees of Indonesia and Malaysia • Syn: ↑genus Santalum • Hypernyms: ↑dilleniid dicot genus • Member Holonyms: ↑Santalaceae, ↑family Santalaceae, ↑sandalwood family …   Useful english dictionary

  • Santalum — ID 75223 Symbol Key SANTA Common Name sandalwood Family Santalaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity N/A US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution HI Growth Habit N/A Dur …   USDA Plant Characteristics

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