Japanese name: ビャクダン（白檀） Scientific name:Santalum album
[Overview]
An evergreen small tree 3–10 m tall.
It is semi-parasitic regardless of the host, and since it has chlorophyll it also photosynthesizes.
The leaves are simple and opposite, elliptic, 4–8 cm long, with entire or wavy margins.
The leaf stalk is 1–1.5 cm long.
The flowers are borne in panicles at the branch tips.
The corolla is bell-shaped and 4-lobed; it is cream-colored just after opening, but later turns dark red on the inside.
The fruit is spherical, about 1 cm across, and ripens from red to black.
[Uses]
The heartwood is pale yellow at first and later tinged with brown; it is hard, dense and pleasantly fragrant.
Since ancient times it has been used to make Buddhist statues, fans and the like, and when powdered it is made into powdered incense or distilled to make sandalwood oil.
