Chandan (Sandalwood) Tree (Santalum album): Where It Grows in India and How to Plant It
Santalum album
Chandan, or Indian sandalwood (Santalum album), is a hemi-parasitic tree that cannot grow without a host plant beside it. How to plant it with the right host, where it grows in India including Rajasthan, how to recognise it and tell it from red sandalwood, care for the first three years, and the legal and theft cautions.
Cultural significance
Sandalwood is part of everyday worship in India: ICFRE-IWST says it plays an important role in the religious life of Indians, and ICRAF notes that its powder is burnt as incense in homes and temples. Wood is Good (2021) notes that Karnataka is known as "Srigandha Nadu", the land of sandalwood. Rahim's well-known doha "चंदन विष व्यापत नहीं, लिपटे रहत भुजंग" uses the old belief that snakes coil around the sandalwood tree to say that a good person is not spoiled by bad company.
Sources: Vikaspedia (Govt of India / C-DAC): Sandalwood (source: Sandalwood Information System, ICFRE-IWST Bengaluru); ICFRE-IWST (2021). Wood is Good, Grow More, Use More, Vol. 2 Issue 2 (Hegde & Baloch; Rathore et al.; Gunaga et al.; Gujarat case study; Ray & Mishra); Orwa C. et al. (2009). Agroforestree Database 4.0: Santalum album (ICRAF / World Agroforestry); Bharat Discovery: Rahim ke dohe (Rahim's couplets); ICFRE-IWST Sandalwood Information System: home page (more than 90% in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; religious life)
This article was prepared with AI assistance and checked by the GreenEye team against the sources shown in each section.
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