Why in news
Sandalwood hardly needs an introduction to the readers of The Hindu.
It has been valued for many centuries, for its fragrant oil, its prized wood, and the many medicinal uses it has been put to.
The tree that all this comes from, however, is not all that familiar.
Growing in deciduous forests, it is a partial, or hemiparasite that needs four or five other trees growing around it.
Under the ground, sandalwood roots form a haustorium that forms an octopus-like hold on the host tree’s roots, from where water and nutrients are taken.
Sandalwood – basic details
Sandalwood is a class of aromatic woods from trees in the genus Santalum.
These are medium-sized hemiparasitic trees, which means they partially derive nutrients from the roots of other plants.
Sandalwood trees are found in South Asia and Southeast Asia, with India, Indonesia and Australia being the major producers of sandalwood today.
Appearance: The heartwood, which is the most prized part of the tree, is yellow and fine-grained. The sapwood is paler.
Fragrance: Sandalwood has a distinctive, sweet, woody fragrance that lasts for decades.
This fragrance is due to the presence of essential oils, particularly alpha-santalol.
Uses: Sandalwood has been used for centuries in various cultures for religious purposes, fragrances, woodcarvings, and traditional medicine.
Sandalwood oil is a popular ingredient in perfumes, soaps, cosmetics, and aromatherapy.
Its Fruit – relation with birds
Sandalwood trees do produce fruit, but their relationship with birds is a bit more complex than some other trees.
Sandalwood Fruit: The fruit of the sandalwood tree is a small, fleshy drupe that ripens to a dark purple or black color.
Each fruit contains a single seed.
Bird Relationship: While birds are not necessarily the primary seed dispersers for sandalwood, some species do play a role.
The fruit is small enough to be swallowed whole by certain birds, such as Koels, Common Mynas, and Brown-headed Barbets.
These birds then disperse the seeds in their droppings, sometimes depositing them far away from the parent tree.
This can be beneficial for the sandalwood tree as it helps to reduce competition between seedlings and the parent tree.
However, it's important to note that sandalwood seeds have a hard endocarp (inner fruit wall) that can be difficult for birds to digest.
This may limit the effectiveness of seed dispersal by birds and contribute to the slow natural regeneration of sandalwood trees.
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