''Santalum obtusifolium'', known as the sandalwood or blunt sandalwood, is a shrub found in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

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 may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

and

Lamington National Park The Lamington National Park is a national park, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport on the Gold Coast the park is to the southwest and Brisbane is north. Th ...

s. Growing as far from the coast as

Yarrowitch Yarrowitch is a small rural locality on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the picturesque Yarrowitch River Valley on the Oxley Highway 48 kilometres east of Walcha. The settlement is included in the W ...

Megalong Valley 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 th ...

and Braidwood in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Unlike other

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

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 is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega ...

(14.3%) in the fruit kernels.Medicinal Plants in Australia, Volume 1. Cheryll Williams page 274. 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 ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

'', authored by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown.

References

obtusifolium ''Obtusifolium'' is a genus of liverworts belonging to the family Cephaloziellaceae Cephaloziellaceae is a family of liverworts belonging to the order Jungermanniales. Genera Genera: *'' Allisoniella'' E.A.Hodgs. *'' Amphicephalozia'' R.M.Sch ...

Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1810 {{Santalales-stub