Sandalwood Australia

Essential oil

Santalum spicatum

A&C

General data

  • J
  • F
  • M
  • A
  • M
  • J
  • J
  • A
  • S
  • O
  • N
  • D

Product details

Well-being side

Soothing and calming nervous, circulatory, skin regenerating. Calming, soothing and positive, it promotes serenity.

*The aromatherapy properties in this document are excerpted from reference books, scientific articles, or specialized websites and are provided to customer for its information and internal use only. Claims on a finished product remain the responsibility of the company making the finished product available on the market.

Australian sandalwood is a small evergreen tree native to arid regions of Australia. Widespread in the southwest part of the country, it grows in symbiosis with a plant in its environment, mainly those in the genera Eucalyptus and Acacia. This hemi-parasite performs its own photosynthesis, but draws water and nutrients from its host through its root system. The soft, fragrant heartwood is wrapped in rough, fibrous bark. The trunk and roots of Australian sandalwood, once stripped of the bark, are distilled for an essential oil with the characteristic sandalwood smell. Its sweet, woody character with spicy accents is similar to the fragrance of Indian sandalwood (Santalum album), but the rawer, earthy dimension makes it an original and distinct material.

First distilled experimentally in 1875, Australian sandalwood essential oil began to be sporadically produced by a few small Australian distilleries. As the essential oil’s popularity grew, so did exploitation of the wild tree. It became one of the most important revenue sources for the economy of Western Australia and also made development of the interior possible. To ensure sustainable existence for the natural sandalwood resources, timber harvesting has been regulated since 1920 by the Western Australian Sandalwood Control Act (1929). Plantations were established to renew the tree populations and essential oil production comes only from these managed sources.

To top