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The History, Present Distribution, and Abundance of 
Sandalwood on Oahu, Hawaiian Islands: 
Hawaiian Plant Studies 14 1 
Harold St. John 2 
INTRODUCTION 
Today it is a common belief of the resi¬ 
dents of the Hawaiian Islands that the san¬ 
dalwood tree was exterminated during the 
sandalwood trade in the early part of the 
nineteenth century and that it is now ex¬ 
tinct on the islands. To correct this impres¬ 
sion, the following notes are presented. 
There is a popular as well as a scientific 
interest in the sandalwood tree or iliahi of 
the Hawaiians, the fragrant wood of which 
was the first important article of commerce 
exported from the Hawaiian Islands. 
For centuries the sandalwood, with its 
pleasantly fragrant dried heartwood, was 
much sought for. In the Orient, particularly 
in China, Burma, and India, the wood was 
used for the making of idols and sacred 
utensils for shrines, choice boxes and carv¬ 
ings, fuel for funeral pyres, and joss sticks 
to be burnt in temples. The distilled oil was 
used in numerous medicines, perfumes, and 
cosmetics, and as a body rub. The thick oil 
pressed from the seed was used as illuminat¬ 
ing oil. 
Though long believed to be native to 
India, the "white sandalwood,” Sant alum 
1 This is the fourteenth of a series of papers 
designed to present descriptions, revisions, and 
records of Hawaiian plants. The following papers 
have been published as Bernice P. Bishop Museum 
Occasional Papers: 10 (4), 1933; 10 (12), 1934; 
11 (14), 1935; 12 (8), 1936; 14 (8), 1938; 15 
(1), 1939; 15 (2), 1939; 15 (22), 1940; 15 (28), 
1940; 17 (12), 1943; and nos. 11, 12, and 13 are 
in press. 
2 Chairman, Department of Botany, University 
of Hawaii. 
album L., the species first commercialized, 
is now considered to have been introduced 
into India many centuries ago and cultivated 
there for its economic and sentimental val¬ 
ues. Only in more recent times has it at¬ 
tained wide distribution and great abun¬ 
dance in that country. It is certainly indige¬ 
nous in Timor and apparently so all along 
the southern chain of the East Indies to east¬ 
ern Java, including the islands of Roti, We- 
tar, Sawoe, Soemba, Bali, and Madoera. The 
earliest voyagers found it on those islands 
and it was early an article of export, reach¬ 
ing the markets of China and India (Skotts- 
berg, 1930: 436; Fischer, 1938). The in¬ 
sufficient and diminishing supply of white 
sandalwood gave it a very high and increas¬ 
ing value. Hence, trade in the wood was 
profitable even when a long haul was in¬ 
volved. 
the genus Santalum 
The genus Santalum contains several spe¬ 
cies and most, if not all, of these are accept¬ 
able alternatives or substitutes for S. album. 
Hence, each newly discovered stand of any 
species of sandalwood attained great eco¬ 
nomic value. There are now 19 accepted 
species of Santalum occurring naturally from 
Java to Juan Fernandez, Hawaii, and the 
Bonin Islands. These species are found as 
follows: 
Java to Timor— S. album L. 
New Guinea— S. Macgregorii F. Muell., S. papu- 
anum Summerh. 
Australia— S. lanceolatum R. Br., S. obtusifolium 
R. Br., S. ovatum R. Br. 
5 
