Common Name: Pacific Sandalwood

General Information

Pacific sandalwood is a hemiparasitic shrub or small tree with a spreading crown; it can grow about 5 - 12 metres tall. The short, crooked bole can be up to 40 - 50cm in diameter[]. A root hemi-parasite, it obtains water and nutrients from host plants growing close by and does not grow well in the absence of a host[].
The tree is cultivated for its heartwood on a small scale in New Caledonia[]. An attractive plant, especially when in flower, it can be grown as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Pacific - New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

Habitat

Open, dry forests and woodland communities[]. Usually found in secondary forest formations[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	10.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant grows naturally in warm to hot lowland areas in the tropics at elevations up to 800 metres, but usually below 300 metres[]. It prefers a mean annual temperature in the range 23 - 27°c[]. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 1,250 - 1,750mm (though it can tolerate 800 - 2,500mm), and there is a distinct dry season of 3 - 5 months[].
Requires a position in full sun or bright shade[]. Requires a light to medium, well-drained soil[]. Prefers a well drained neutral to slightly alkaline soil. Tolerates poor, shallow soils[]. It grows more quickly in fertile soils but is then more at risk of being shaded out by taller, faster growing trees[]. Prefers a circumneutral soil with a pH of pH 6.1 - 7.4, but can tolerate 4 - 7.4[].
The plant has a capacity for invasiveness in disturbed places, but this is rarely considered a problem[].
A semi-parasitic plant, obtaining some of its nutriment from the roots of other plants[]. The plant has green leaves containing chlorophyll, and is thus able to photosynthesize - it relies on host plants only for water and soil nutrients, not for sugars, which it can produce itself []. In a natural situation, the plant seems to rely on nitrogen fixing trees such as Acacia and Casuarina, though it is known to parasitize many other legumes, shrubs, herbs and grasses[]. It normally has more than one host at a time[].
Acacia spirorbis makes a good long-term host plant under both natural conditions and in plantations. For ultramafic soils, other good nitrogen-fixing host species are Casuarina collina and Gymnostoma deplancheana[].
A fairly slow-growing plant, increasing in height by about 30 - 70cm per year[].
Under good conditions plants begin fruiting from an early age, typically about 3 - 4 years, but heavy fruiting may take
7 - 10 years[].
The species can produce substantial quantities of its valuable heartwood on a rotation of about 25 - 40 years[].
Plants generally respond well to coppicing[].
Plants are capable of producing root suckers - following harvesting, clumps of suckers may regenerate in a circular pattern several meters away from the original stump[].
Because sandalwood is hemiparasitic and requires one or more host plants, intercropping is not only possible, but necessary[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A decoction of sandalwood, combined with Homolanthus leaves, is taken to treat elephantiasis or lymphatic filariasis[].

Agroforestry Uses:

A pioneer species, spreading freely into grassland etc by means of bird-sown seeds[].

Other Uses

An essential oil is extracted from the heartwood. A high quality oil, it is used for cosmetics and perfumery, incense, and religious ceremonies[].

The grated wood is traditionally used to scent coconut oil[].

The heartwood is yellow and scented. The wood is fine-grained and durable[46. It has been used for making boxes, carvings and small fancy articles[, ]. The wood is rarely used as a timber because of its high value as a source of an essential oil[].

Propagation

Seed - germinates best when scarified. It is best sown fresh when the viability is high, with 80 - 90% of the seed germinating after 2 - 3 months[]. Sow the seed in a covered nursery seedbed - it germinates best at a temperature of 28 - 31°c[]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they have 2 - 4 leaves[].
Acacia species, Calliandra calothyrsus, and Casuarina spp. May be used as hosts for the young plants in pots, but Calliandra needs frequent cutting back to prevent it from overtopping the sandalwood[].
Plant out into permanent positions when 20 - 25cm tall, approx 5 - 6 months after germination[].

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