INDIAN FOREST RECORDS. 
Part IV.] 
1910 
[Vol. II. 
The Host Plants of the Sandal Tree. 
By RAMA RAO 
Conservator of Forests, Travancore 
T he economic and commercial value of Sandalwood (Santa- 
h/ni ulhum), its restricted occurrence over a limited area in 
India, its practical absence in othei' parts of the world, and the 
threatened extinction of the exist ino- sandal by the occurrence of the 
“ Spike ” disease, point to the necessity for the adoption of earnest 
and vif^orous measures, not only for the preservation and protection 
of all existing sandal «rrowth, but also for extending its area by 
artificial reproduction and by effectively aiding its natural regenera- 
tion. Much appears to have been done in the past in this direction 
by way of plantings and sowings both in Mysore and Coorg where it 
occurs most abundantly, but those efforts have not been quite success- 
ful. This failure ajipears to be due to the ignorance of the life- 
history and habits of the plant and to its being treated like other 
species of trees in the methods adopted for its propagation. Al- 
though its root-parasitic habit was discovered 40 years ago, no value 
or importance was attached to the effects and influence of this 
peculiar habit of this species on its growth and development. It is 
only during recent years that the importance that its root-parasitic 
habit plays in its growth has been .studied and it has been realised 
that all operations undertaken towarcTs its regeneration must be 
regulated and guided by this habit of the plant. It has now been 
sufficiently well demonstrated that sandal derives its root-nourish- 
ment from the roots of other species of plants and that it shows a 
decided preference for some species moie than for others. It is 
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