Santalum obtusifolium known as the Sandalwood or Blunt Sandalwood is a shrub found in eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Often seen around a metre tall, it may grow to 2.5 metres high. Seen in eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 forests and woodlands, often by creeks and usually not far from the sea. It grows in moderate to high rainfall areas such as Royal

Royal National Park

Royal National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 29 km south of Sydney CBD.Founded by Sir John Robertson, Acting Premier of New South Wales, and formally proclaimed on 26 April 1879, it is the world's second oldest purposed national park, the first usage of the term...

 and Lamington National Parks

Lamington National Park

Lamington is a national park in Queensland, Australia, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border...

. Growing as far from the coast as Yarrowitch, Megalong Valley

Megalong Valley

The Megalong Valley is part of the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of Katoomba. On its eastern side, the valley is separated from the Jamison Valley by Narrow Neck Plateau. The Shipley Plateau overlooks part of the valley....

 and Braidwood

Braidwood, New South Wales

Braidwood is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Palerang Shire. It is located on the busy Kings Highway linking Canberra to Batemans Bay on the coast. It is about 200 kilometres south west of Sydney and about 60 kilometres inland from the coast...

 in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

.

Unlike other Sandalwood

Santalum

Santalum is a genus of woody flowering plants, the best known and commercially valuable of which is the Indian Sandalwood tree, S. album. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasites which photosynthesize their own food but tap the roots of other species for water and...

 species, little is known of its fruit, wood, or other uses. However, there are reports the fruit is edible. According to Butaud 2008, there is Ximenynic acid (71.5%) and Oleic acid

Oleic acid

Oleic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid found in various animal and vegetable fats. It has the formula CH37CH=CH7COOH. It is an odorless, colourless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. The trans isomer of oleic acid is called elaidic acid...

 (14.3%) in the fruit kernels.

The specific epithet obtusifolium is from Latin, and it refers to the blunt leaves. This plant first appeared in the scientific literature in 1810, in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae, authored by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown

Robert Brown (botanist)

Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...

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