Sandalwood by Wanderer MoonChild

Botanical Basics

1. Common Name(s): Sandalwood, East Indian Sandalwood, White Sandalwood
2. Folk Name(s): Sacred Wood, Chandan (Sanskrit), Santalum
3. Scientific/Latin Name: Santalum album (most valued species); related species include Santalum spicatum (Australian sandalwood) and Santalum paniculatum (Hawaiian sandalwood)
4. Family: Santalaceae (Sandalwood family)
5. Plant Type: Hemiparasitic evergreen tree
6. Botanical Description: Small to medium tree, 20–30 feet tall, with smooth gray-brown bark, leathery green leaves, and small purplish-brown to maroon flowers. Wood is pale yellow, turning deeper with age, and highly aromatic due to essential oil.
7. Growing Zones/Climate: Tropical to subtropical climates, USDA zones 10–12.
8. Best Zones for Growth: India, Indonesia, Australia, Hawaii—areas with warm temperatures and seasonal rainfall.
9. Habitat & Range: Native to India and Indonesia; cultivated in Australia, Pacific Islands, and parts of Africa. Requires host plants for nutrients due to hemiparasitic nature.

Cultivation & Harvest

1. Soil & Sun Requirements: Prefers well-drained sandy or loamy soil, slightly alkaline; thrives in full sun.
2. Propagation: Grown from seeds or root suckers; requires a host plant (often legumes, acacia, or casuarina) for nutrient exchange.
3. Companion Planting: Typically grown with nitrogen-fixing host trees to support growth.
4. Harvesting Guidelines: Harvested for heartwood and roots when trees reach 15–30 years old; older wood is richer in oil. Overharvesting has endangered wild populations.
5. Drying/Preservation: Heartwood is cut, aged, and distilled for essential oil; wood chips used in incense and powders.

Traditional & Historical Use

1. Cultural Significance: Revered in Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions for sacred rituals, meditation, and temple offerings. Used in religious carvings, incense, and funeral rites. In Ayurveda, considered cooling, calming, and spiritually purifying.
2. Traditional Medicine: Applied as a paste for skin conditions, fever, and inflammation. In Chinese medicine, used to treat digestive and chest complaints. Middle Eastern traditions valued it for perfumery and ritual cleansing.
3. Symbolism: Represents purity, spirituality, immortality, and divine connection.

Medicinal & Practical Properties

1. Active Constituents: Santalol (α- and β-santalol), sesquiterpenes, santalenes, essential oils.
2. Medicinal Uses: Anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, sedative, expectorant. Used for skin issues (eczema, acne), urinary infections, anxiety, and meditation support.
3. Preparation Methods: Distilled essential oil, wood powder, incense, pastes, infused oils.
4. Dosage & Guidelines:
   
5. Essential oil (topical, diluted): 1–2% in carrier oil for skin care.
6. Aromatherapy: a few drops in diffuser.
7. Traditional paste: mixed with water or rose water for cooling skin.
   
8. Safety/Precautions: Essential oil is generally safe when diluted; avoid ingestion of large amounts. Sustainability concerns—always source ethically.

Magical & Spiritual Properties

1. Elemental Association: Fire and Air
2. Planetary/Deity Correspondence: Moon, Venus; associated with deities of love, peace, and devotion such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Avalokiteshvara.
3. Magical Correspondences: Spirituality, meditation, purification, love, healing, consecration, protection.
4. Ritual Use: Burned as incense to sanctify ritual space; ground wood used in altar offerings; oil anoints candles and sacred objects. Believed to raise spiritual vibrations and deepen meditation.
5. Symbolism in Divination/Dreams: Represents divine blessing, spiritual progress, deep love, and guidance from ancestors.

Ecological & Culinary Uses

1. Pollinator Value: Flowers attract bees and small insects.
2. Wildlife Uses: Hemiparasitic—supports ecosystem by interacting with host trees; not a major wildlife food source.
3. Culinary Uses: Rare; in some traditions, sandalwood powder or oil has been used in small amounts for flavoring sweets or beverages (e.g., Indian chandan drinks).

Household/Practical Uses

1. Quick Uses: Incense, perfumes, essential oil blends, sacred carvings.
2. Notable Traits: Wood retains fragrance for decades; deeply entwined with ritual and sacred art.
3. Special Notes: Considered endangered; sustainable plantation-grown sandalwood is the ethical choice.

Fast Facts

1. One of the world’s most valuable woods.
2. Used for over 4,000 years in temples, medicine, and ritual.
3. Heartwood oil deepens in fragrance with age.

Supporting Notes

1. Kapoor, L.D. Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants (1990).
2. Chevallier, A. Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (2016).
3. Duke, J.A. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs (2002).
4. USDA & CITES conservation data.