Sandal Industry

Sandalwood is the name for several fragrant woods. From the Sanskrit candanam the name is borrowed as the Greek sandanon. The local name in Indonesia and Malaysia is "Cendana". In Kannada it is Sri Gandha and in Hindi it is Chandan (Chondon in Bengali or other Indian languages). In Tamil it is called "Chandhanam". A special case is red sandalwood, aka red sanders, (from Pterocarpus santalinus (legume family, Fabaceae)) which does not yield oil and is only fragrant when fresh. This is primarily known as a dye-wood, once of great importance but now only used locally in India. This is an entirely different wood, red in color, although it too is used in carving. In addition it is used in musical instruments, and likely in furniture. It is CITES-listed.

To produce commercially valuable sandalwood with high levels of fragrance oils, harvested santalum trees have to be at least 40 years of age, but 80 or above is preferred. However, inferior sandalwood produced from trees at 30 years old can still fetch a decent price due to the demand for real sandalwood. Unlike most trees, sandalwood is harvested by toppling the entire santalum tree instead of sawing them down at the trunk. This way, valuable wood from the stump and root can also be sold or processed for oil.

Sandalwood essential oil provides perfumes with a striking wood base note. Sandalwood smells not unlike other wood scents, except it has a bright and fresh edge with few natural analogues. When used in smaller proportions in a perfume, it is an excellent fixative to enhance the head space of other fragrances. The oil from sandalwood is widely used in the cosmetic industry and is expensive. The true sandalwood is a protected species, and its demand cannot be met. Many species of plants are traded under the name of "sandalwood". Within the genus santalum alone, there are more than 19 varieties that can be called sandalwood. Traders will often accept oil from closely related species such as various species of santalum genus and the oil of West Indian sandalwood (Amyris balsamifera) from the family of Rutaceae.

In Hinduism, sandalwood is often used for rituals or ceremonies. It is used as an embalming paste in temples on idols. The bindi dot is sometimes created from sandalwood paste. Sandalwood is considered in alternative medicine to bring one closer with the divine. Sandalwood essential oil, which is very expensive in its pure form, is used primarily for Ayurvedic purposes and treating anxiety. Sandalwood, along with agarwood, is the most popular and commonly used incense material by the Chinese and Japanese in worship and various ceremonies. It is also used extensively in Indian incense, religiously or otherwise.