Sandalwood (a name corrupted from Santal wood), the wood of several species of the genus Santalum, of the natural order Santalaceæ (q.v.), natives of the East Indies and tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean. Sandalwood is compact and fine grained, very suitable for making work-boxes, desks, and small ornamental articles, and is remarkable for its fragrance, which is fatal to insects; so that cabinets of sandalwood are extremely suitable for the preservation of specimens in natural history, though much too expensive for general use. White Sandalwood, the most common kind, is the produce of a small tree (Santalum album), a native of mountains in the south of India and the Indian Archipelago, much branched, resembling myrtle in its foliage and privet in its flowers. The girth of a mature tree varies from 18 to 36 inches.
It is a government monopoly in India, the exports being now to the value of £80,000 a year. The annual sale in 1889 was 2420 tons, chiefly obtained in the Mysore province. Other species of sandalwood are now brought into commerce, among which may be named S. Freycinetianum of the Sandwich Isles, which has a peculiarly rich perfume, from the mountains of Hawaii, S. Yasi of Fiji, S. austrocaledonicum from New Caledonia, S. Preissianum of South Australia, and S. cignorum of Western Australia. Of the latter 4500 tons have been exported in one year, valued at £36,200. The precious oil is obtained by slow distillation from the heartwood and root. The bark and sapwood have no smell, but the heartwood and roots are highly scented, the billet nearest the root being most esteemed. The average yield is about 2½ per cent. or more of oil; indeed 100 lb. of good sandalwood should yield from 15 to 20 oz. of otto. As imported from India it is very dense, of a pale straw colour and of a mild but lasting odour. The best is that prepared in Europe, principally in France and England. From its high price sandalwood-oil is especially liable to adulteration.
The oil forms the basis of many perfumes, and is sometimes used for disguising with its scent articles which, really carved from common wood, are passed off for true sandal. The roots, which are the richest in oil, and the chips go to the still; while the Hindus can afford to show their wealth and respect for their departed relatives by adding sticks of sandalwood to the funeral pile. The wood, either in powder or rubbed up into a paste, is used by all Brahmins in the pigments for their distinguishing caste-marks. In China the wood is used for carving, for incense, and for perfume, the imports ranging there from 100,000 to 146,000 cwt. annually.
Red Sanderswood, sometimes called Sandalwood, is the produce of a very different small tree, Pterocarpus santalinus, of the natural order Leguminosæ, sub-order Papilionaceæ, a native of the tropical parts of Asia, particularly of the mountains of the south of India. The tree is about 40 feet high, with pinnated leaves, having generally three leaflets, and axillary racemes of flowers. The heartwood is dark red, with black veins, and so heavy as to sink in water. It is used as a dyestuff, imparting a pale pink colour to cloth, and also by apothecaries to colour certain preparations. In India it is chiefly employed to mark idols and the forehead in ceremonies. The Arabs use it as an astringent, and it is the basis of some of our tooth-powders.