Sandanam is Santalum album, Indian sandalwood — the hemiparasitic tree whose heartwood Tamil temples and Hindi chandan already know. It is not red “sandal” (Pterocarpus santalinus) and it is not Australian S. spicatum, though all three smell like money. Wild Indian sandalwood is a conservation and law story before it is a perfume story.
- Botanical name
- Santalum album L.
- Family
- Santalaceae
- Tamil
- Sandanam
- Hindi
- Chandan
- Sanskrit
- Candana
- Parts used
- Heartwood, Oil distilled from heartwood
- Habit
- Hemiparasitic evergreen tree; the article is the heartwood and its oil
- Last updated
- 2026-10-30
How to recognise Sandanam
Linnaeus published Santalum album. The family is Santalaceae. It is a small evergreen tree that taps the roots of neighbours (hemiparasite), with opposite leaves, small reddish flowers, and a fruit that is a dark drupe. The useful part is the yellow-brown, close-grained, fragrant heartwood of older trees.
Heartwood and oil are the trade objects. Sapwood is paler and weaker. Powder sold as chandan is the easiest place for cheaper woods, spent distillation chips and synthetic santalol to hide. Buy a piece you can rasp and smell.
Tamil sandanam, Hindi chandan and Sanskrit candana are the ceremonial names. English white sandalwood or Indian sandalwood is this species. Red sandalwood is Pterocarpus, a Fabaceae timber with a different chemistry and its own legal mess.
Santalum spicatum (Australian sandalwood) and S. austrocaledonicum enter the same global oil trade. A bottle that only says “sandalwood oil” has not named the tree.
A living tree in a licensed plantation and a smuggled billet from a dry forest are the same species with opposite legal status.
Mysore-type oil and “temple paste” are different articles. Paste may be heartwood, bark, or neither.
A mature heartwood scent is sweet, persistent and woody. A short, sharp, “bathroom cleaner” sandal is usually a different molecule. Smell is not a permit, but it is a reason to doubt a cheap pot.
Traditional use of Sandanam
Hindu and South Indian ceremony
Candana paste on the skin and on images is living practice. That cultural use is the best-documented story.
Temple and household ceremony
Ayurveda and perfumery
Candana is a cooling, fragrant wood in those lists and in attar. Historical headings are not a dermatology claim.
Ayurvedic headings and Indian perfumery
Modern notes on Sandanam
Santalol chemistry is well described. That is why the oil is expensive and why it is faked.
The practical modern issue is illegal harvest, plantation substitution, and synthetic oils sold as Mysore.
Sandanam safety
A thin ceremonial paste on intact skin is how most people meet it. Undiluted oil can bother skin. Do not drink oil.
People with fragrance allergy already know this smell in another way.
Educational only. Not medical advice. Not an offer to sell. Not a permit to collect a tree.
Ecology and sourcing
Wild S. album in India has been over-cut for decades and sits inside a thicket of state law and smuggling; the IUCN Red List rates it Vulnerable. Heartwood only pays on a mature tree, which is why theft kills the future crop.
Related plants
Questions about Sandanam
Is red sandalwood the same tree?
No. Red sandalwood is usually Pterocarpus santalinus. Indian sandalwood is Santalum album. Different families, different laws, different smell when you know both.
What is the Tamil name of Santalum album?
Sandanam.
Sources
- Santalum album L. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q210858 (Santalum album)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.