Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 October 2021 | 13(12): 19884–19886
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7614.13.12.19884-19886
#7614 | Received 09 August 2021
A look over on the scented tree
of India (Santalum album)
S. Suresh Ramanan 1 &
A. Arunachalam 2
1,2 ICAR-Central Agroforestry
Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh 284003, India.
1 sureshramanan01@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 a.arunachalam@icar.gov.in
Date of publication: 26 October 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Ramanan, S.S. & A. Arunachalam (2021). A look over on the
scented tree of India (Santalum album). Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(12): 19884–19886. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7614.13.12.19884-19886
Copyright: © Ramanan & Arunachalam 2021. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Sandalwood: Silviculture,
Conservation and Applications
-- Pullaiah,
T., S.C. Das, V.A. Bapat, M.K. Swamy, V.D. Reddy & K.S.R. Murthy
Date of publication: 2021
Publisher: Springer Singapore,
viii+288pp.
ISBN: 978-981-16-0779-0.
Price: EUR. 176.79
Sandalwood tree is the pride of
India. It is also quoted as ‘Queen of essential oils and ‘Dollar earning
parasite’ (Rao et al.
2007). Among the 3,000 timber species in the Indian sub-continent, this tree
has been present throughout Indian history. Starting from the Indian rulers,
invaders and even the colonial powers have systematically focused on this tree
species. Indians have systematically researched this species and there was a
need for a dedicated monograph on this species. Now, the book titled
“Sandalwood: Silviculture, Conservation and Applications “under review is
important literature concerning the East Indian Sandalwood tree compiled by Thammineni Pullaiah, Sudhir
Chandra Das, Vishwas A. Bapat, Mallappa Kumara Swamy, Vaddi Damodar Reddy, and Kondragunta
Sri Rama Murthy. More than 10 authors apart from the editors have contributed
to this book which contains 15 chapters covering the scientific to economic
aspects of the Santalum album. At the
very outlook, I believe that this book is written to enlighten the next
generation of researchers on the Santalum
album.
The first chapter reflects the
significance of the Sandalwood tree and even the new readers can comprehend it.
Overall, chapters one, two and three are introducing the tree species with new
information, including a narration on the historical use of sandalwood in
India, Australia, and Hawaii. It indicates the need for documenting sandalwood
usage in other countries. Chapter 3 is a treatise, the authors narrate the
complete story of Santalum and other members of the
genus Santalum. The relevant
photographs or figures make it easy for the readers to corroborate with the
content. Chapter 4 is unique in all sense. It is well-known that sandalwood is
used for carving deity idols and wooden sculptures yet, exclusive documentation
on Sandalwood carving was missing to date in the scientific literature. Though
there is a dearth of technical details, the authors have made due justification
in their narration which is commendable.
The next chapter deals with the
medicinal property of sandalwood and its oil. Giving reference to the
phytochemical property of sandalwood oil mostly, the authors also highlight the
ethnobotanical used this tree. The peculiarity in this chapter will be the
adulterants that are substitute in the place of the sandalwood oil apart from
the synthetic prepared oil. Some of the
alternate plant-derived oil which are used as a substitute is copaiba (Copaifera langsdori)
oil, Amyris (Amyris balsamifera)
oil and Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). There are adulterants not only for the oil
but also for the sandalwood. For instance, species like Osyris
lanceolate and Erythroxylum monogynum are the most common adulterant and chapter
six narrates the means and methods to identify these adulterants. Even wood
from other genera of Santalum is commonly used
as an adulterant. Among the 18 species of the genus Santalum,
the Santalum album fetches high prices because of
the superior oil quality. Technically, the α-santalol
and β-santalol content in the Santalum
album ranges from 45–50% and 15–20% respectively, whereas these values are
lower in other Santalum members (Kumar et al.
2011). For instance, the α-santalol and β-santalol content in the Santalum
spicatum is <20 % and <5 %, approximately. Apart from this aspect, chapter six describes
the wood properties of Santalum album.
These authors have done a commendable job in describing the Sandalwood
properties and also highlighting the research gaps about the wood property of
the Santalum album.
The heart of this book is chapter
seven which deals with the silviculture of the Santalum
album. The information in this chapter will be helpful not only forester
but also to any individual growing this tree species. With the relaxations on
sandalwood tree cultivation, there is increasing interest in growing sandalwood
trees even among small farmers. Moreover, the projected increase in the market
price of sandalwood can further motivate or lure farmers into sandal
cultivation. Chapters seven, eight, and nine are written by a single author who
has done extraordinary work. There are relevant photographs that make these
chapters more informative and relevant for the readers. “Agroforestry is a
collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials
(trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos etc.) are deliberately used on the same
land management unit as crops and/or animals, in some form of spatial
arrangement or temporal sequence. In agroforestry systems, there are both
ecological and economic interactions between the different
components” (Kumar & Nair 2006). A good agroforestry system will ensure
that the competition for space and nutrients between woody perennials and crops
is minimum. In this context, imagine Santalum
album a hemiparasite which always competes for space and nutrients with its
adjacent plants and trees. Therefore, presuming Santalum
album as a suitable tree for agroforestry: can be a bit unrealistic.
Chapter eight titled “Cultivation of Sandalwood Under Agro-Forestry
System” provides enough insights and management of this tree under
agroforestry.
Being one of the highly valued
trees, it is one of the highly traded both legally as well as illegally. This
is the subject matter for chapters 10 and 11. Both chapters extensively narrate
the production and trade network of the Santalum
album, exclusively the illegal trade network and its implications on the
natural population of this tree species. And the subsequent chapters 12, 13,
and 14 gives insight into the biotechnology and tissue culture techniques for
sustainable use and conservation of this tree. Chapter 14 advocates that rigid
legislations are not the only means for conservation for this species and this
is happening today as many states are relaxing the legislation to promote
private cultivation of Santalum album. Largely,
the book serves as a reference for the cultivation/growing of this priced tree
species.
The language of this book is
simple, readable and understandable by its intended audience group. The editors
have attempted to do justice for the topic taken for which they have reviewed
all papers on Santalum album and also
cited papers about other sandal species to bring in analogy, perfectly. It
would be slipshod in writing this review if we are not pointing out the
lacunae.
The editors have not given a
prelude nor a foreword detailing the content of the books. There are some
errors and content organization issues. As we have always felt that the
repetition of information and content is inevitable in an edited book,
particularly while describing a single species. For instance, the line “Kautilya’s Arthashastra (320 BC)
considered Sandalwood as one of the important forest products to increase the
royal revenue” in chapter 2 is repeated in the same chapter (page 14 and 15).
This is one example that indicates that the editors need to revamp this book in
its next edition.
However, there are some major
issues that the editors have to address in their next edition. For instance,
mentioning Santalum album as ‘most
valued South India tree’ is not appropriate in our opinion. More importantly,
it is not the most valued wood from southern India. It is one of the most
valued wood in line with Red Sanders (Pterocarpus
santalinus). Similarly, in Chapter 2, the
author mentions other trees species as Chanda which is due to the local
misconception and the author have acknowledged it rather than critiquing this
misconception. The exact verbatim is as follows “There are at least three kinds
of sandal, namely, White Sandal (Santalum album)
called as “Sweta Chandana”, Red Sandal (Pterocarpus santalinus)
called as “Rakta Chandana”, and Sandal Ku-chandana (Adenanthera pavonina). I would urge the editors to look into
this issue and address it with proper reference.
I strongly urge the editor to
reconsider the inclusion of chapter 15 which deals with the success stories of
Sandalwood. Overall the chapter narrates the experiences of farmers and other
sandalwood tree growers. Considering this book as a monograph of sandalwood,
the case studies narrated here are from secondary sources mostly. I feel that
the author could have at least made a comparative assessment of different
sandalwood growers and come out with some significant inferences. Still, this book is an irreplaceable
scientific contribution and must be reading material for forestry graduates and
researchers interested in this tree with an economic value.
References
Kumar,
A.N.A., Y.B. Srinivasa, G. Joshi & A. Seetharam (2011). Variability in and relation
between tree growth, heartwood and oil content in sandalwood (Santalum album L.). Current Science
100(6): 827–830.
Kumar, B.M.
& P.K.R. Nair (2006). Tropical Homegardens. Springer, The
Netherlands, XIII, 379pp.
Rao, M.N., K.N. Ganeshaiah & R.U. Shaanker
(2007). Assessing
threats and mapping sandal resources to identify genetic ‘hot-spot’ for in-situ
conservation in peninsular India. Conservation Genetics 8(4): 925–935. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-006-9247-1