Santalum Album

[Guest guest]

Can you guys please educate me as to what oil/oils carry the name Santalum

Album?

I was under the impression this is the Latin name for all Sandalwood, no matter

where it is sourced from, but have been reading that Australian Sandalwood has a

different Latin name.

So I am now under the impression Santalum Album is the Latin name for Indian

Sandalwood.

Are there different types of Indian Sandalwood?

I am positive this is not Mysore Sandalwood (If only, though I do have a tiny

amount left of ten year old Mysore Sandalwood which is for personal use only) so

am confused about this now.

Both this ten year old bottle, and my new relatively inexpensive but still not

cheap bottle bear the same Latin name.

Also, is all Sandalwood endangered? Or just the precious Indian Mysore variety?

Is the Latin name referring to the country of origin, or the actual species of

plant?

Thanks so much in advance, I hope this is not too confusing

[Guest guest]

...and away we go: (help me not miss anything peeps)

santalum album, also called santal, is indian sandalwood. originally from the

karnataka region of india. but it refers to a SPECIFIC plant... so... if you got

the weather and the space, feel free to start farming it. sustainably. *wink*

santalum spicatum is australian sandalwood, which IS being harvested

sustainably, but also smells differently. i will let you huff on your own to see

why.

there are issues of aging and harvesting, which would be good education for any

user of a plant to go through before honoring it in your art.

so, in short... mysore sandalwood, santal, indian sandalwood is endangered and

indian (sub-continent) in general. i would note if you have some, you should

tape 'er up and put it away; like patchouli it ages ... like wine. and, who

knows how long ANY plant will be around what with the way we farm. a crop is a

crop, so each one is unique. hmmm. this looks suspiciously like a soap box.

allow me to avoid stepping upon it.

ok, now, whoever knows that i was huffing somethig other than ' negelcta

' frankincense- talking about the desert (i was looking at that bottle while

smelling some lovely somalian variety. bonus points is you can cyber guess that

variety!)-- can pick me apart.

wow. see folks, that kind of  ' they are going to eat me alive ' corporate

mentality is what takes the JOY out of doing it yourself; for whatever motivates

you.

much light; einsof

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for your reply Einsof.

Well the reason I ask is because I just bought some Sandalwood at my local

health store, and the Latin Name is Santalum Album.

All the bottles bear that name but I thought you couldn't really get it anymore.

And for the NZ price of $30 there is no way it could be Indian Sandalwood could

it? Unless it is of very low quality, could that be it?

Or do you think it has been labeled somewhat dodgily?

I have emailed the sellers and am awaiting a reply.

[Guest guest]

This is what the supplier sent me ~

" Morning my Dear

We get sandalwood oil from Ess oils of NZ in Rangiora.

Some time ago I inquired about it and it is apparently mainly from Indonesia

with a small amount of Indian Agmark. If you inquire it would be interesting to

hear what you find. "

So does this mean that they are using the Latin " Santalum Album " incorrectly?

What do I have?

[Guest guest]

Hi

Sorry I can't answer your question, but this is the kind of thing that is

quite frustrating - especially when on the Essential Oils of NZ website they

give the origin of their sandalwood as being 'India':

http://www.essentialoil.co.nz/pure_essential_oils_pricelist.htm

!

Johanna

also in New Zealand ...

[Guest guest]

>

>

> This is what the supplier sent me ~

> We get sandalwood oil from Ess oils of NZ in Rangiora.

> Some time ago I inquired about it and it is apparently mainly from

> Indonesia with a small amount of Indian Agmark.

>

Hi again - sorry - you've piqued my curiosity now! I know Wikipedia

is not always the most reliable source, but it says:

**Indian Sandalwood (*S. album*) is found in the tropical dry deciduous

forests<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_and_subtropical_dry_broadleaf_fore\

sts>of

India, the Lesser

Sunda Islands <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_Sunda_Islands> of

Indonesia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia>, and Arnhem

Land<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnhem_Land>of northern

Australia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia>. It is the only species

found on the Asian <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia> mainland, and may

have been introduced to India from the Lesser Sundas centuries ago. **

So if that's true, I suppose perhaps it could still be S. album if it was

from Indonesia? But as you say ... the price ...! (And other species seem to

grow in Indonesia as well.)

I'll look forward to hearing what light others can shed.

Best

Johanna

[Guest guest]

> And for the NZ price of $30 there is no way it could be Indian Sandalwood

> could it?

>

How big is the bottle - 10 mls?

Johanna

[Guest guest]

good detective work!

remember you are dealing with a plant... a tree.. a bush... a flower... so: the

climate of the indian sub-continent is where santal can grow... like apples from

washington, potatoes from idaho or chemicals from dupont. *er...*

so it is probably santalum album. NOW, given it is not from the mysore region it

is NOT mysore sandalwood. ok, still santalum album. HOWEVER (caps make me feel

very auithoratative. just saying: i'm not.) - the soil conditions, the air, the

surrounding plants all contribute to the quality of the oil. so does distillery

practices. and that affects the soil which affects the plant which affects the

perfume which affects the person which affects the plane which affects...

ahhh. i hope i get to play MAUDE in HAROLD & MAUDE one day. i do SO love

liberating canaries....