Santalum (Noun)
Meaning
Parasitic trees of Indonesia and Malaysia.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- Santalum trees are often characterized as parasites, connecting to the roots of host trees and eventually strangling them, found predominantly in the tropical forests of Indonesia and Malaysia.
- Santalum_album, commonly known as East Indian sandalwood, is native to Indonesia and was once found in high quantities however due to over-exploitation it is now mostly cultivated in plantations.
- The growth and survival of Santalum in the wild depend heavily on its ability to infect a host tree, most notably species in the genera that dominate Indonesia and Malaysia's tropical forests.
- Many commercial plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia focus on cultivating the Santalum species as they can be grown on land which uses the services and the dead root systems of diverse host trees that exist in the forest gardens.
- The Santalum trees are found in association with at least several dozen species, indicating multiple potential hosts in Indonesia and Malaysia that allow it to obtain the nutrients necessary to grow into the valuable timber it produces.