Santalum freycinetianum var. pyrularium

Common Names

Iliahi, Forest Sandalwood, Freycinet Sandalwood, Laau Ala, Wahie Ala

Summary

Native to Kauai, Hawaii, this hemiparasitic woody perennial in the sandalwood family is known by common names Forest Sandalwood, Freycinet Sandalwood, Iliahi, Laau Ala, and Wahie Ala. It forms a shrub or tree ranging from 1 to 25 m tall, evergreen with slender, often pendulous branches, gray-green leathery elliptic leaves 4–12 cm long, and yellow-brown, hard, fine-textured wood rich in aromatic essential oils; the fruit is a pseudodrupe.

It is a root hemiparasite that parasitizes hosts such as Acacia koa, A. koaia, and Dodonaea viscosa, and grows on ridges and slopes at 250–950 m in humid forests with 500–3800 mm of annual rainfall. Size varies from 1 m shrub to 25 m tree and the plant is evergreen and slow-growing with slender, pendulous branches. Wood fragrance lasts for years and has been used in carpentry and sculpture, and distillation yields an oil for perfumes, incense, and medicines; traditional Hawaiians used wood powder as perfume and leaves and bark for treating dandruff. Sandalwood was highly valued worldwide, prompting extensive harvesting in Hawaii and a later end to the trade by 1839; populations have since recovered, though large trees remain uncommon.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

3 ft 3 in-40 ft

Bloom Color

Green-yellow to dark red, White, Red, Pink, Yellow

Bloom Time

Spring to Winter

Foliage Color

Gray-green

Fall Foliage Color

Green

Leaf Lifecycle

Evergreen broadleaf

Growth Rate

Relatively slow-growing.