Sandalwood is the name of 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 use. Both the wood and the oil produce a distinctive fragrance that has been highly valued for centuries. Consequently, species of these slow-growing trees have suffered over-harvesting in the past century.

There are over 80 different species in the Santalum genus but only two are predominantly used commercially in today's global markets - Indian sandalwood and West Australian (WA) sandalwood.

Australian (Santalum spicatum) is a desert type of tree native to Australia and found predominantly in the middle and southern parts of Western Australia.

Sandalwood is obtained through steam distillation of powdered sandalwood and many from the lower parts of the tree with the better quality oil coming from the butts and roots.