Red Sandalwood Incense Sticks

Pterocarpus santalinus belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae) - a different botanical lineage entirely from Santalum album (Santalaceae). The wood is dense, deep red, and historically more prized as a colour-fast dye than as an aromatic. On the burn the register is woodier, drier, less creamy than the white sandalwood family - closer to old leather and aged oak than to the honeyed register of Santalum album. The shared name reflects translation tradition, not botany.

1. Hold the tip to a flame until it catches (5–10 seconds).
2. Blow the flame out so the stick smoulders.
3. Place in an incense holder on a heat-safe surface.
4. The first three minutes carry a creamy-woody opening; the burn deepens into resinous warmth.
5. Allow ash to cool fully before clearing.

Burns for approximately 30–40 minutes per stick. Ventilate the room as the burn progresses.

• Botanical: Pterocarpus santalinus
• Family: Fabaceae (legume family - not Santalaceae)
• Common nameRed Sandalwood · Red Sanders · raktachandan (Hindi)
• Origin: Andhra Pradesh, India · cultivated plantations
• Source name: rakta candana (Sanskrit) · "red sandalwood"
• Form: Hand-rolled stick · no bamboo core · ~10cm
• Quantity: 35
• Burn time: ~30–40 minutes per stick
• Aromatic profile: Leather · bark · aged wood
• CITES status: Appendix II - regulated international trade
• Storage: Cool, dry, away from light

Pterocarpus santalinus is a CITES Appendix II species - the international trade is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to prevent overharvest of wild stands. The workshop sources only from authorised cultivated plantations in Andhra Pradesh; wild-harvested red sandalwood is illegal to export from India. The Sanskrit name rakta candana - "red sandalwood" - appears in trade records dating to the early Common Era; the wood was prized as a dye for textiles and as an aromatic across the Indian Ocean trade.