Laoshan sandalwood
Sandalwood is an ancient and mysterious rare tree species, mainly produced in hot and humid areas such as eastern India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Fiji. It is a semi-parasitic plant, which grows very slowly and usually takes decades to become a useful plant. It is one of the slowest growing trees, and the mature sandalwood can be as high as 40 feet (about 12 meters).
Sandalwood is very precious, and it must be parasitic on Chinese parasol trees, red bean trees, acacia trees and other plants at seedling stage to survive. It is known as the "sacred tree" in the field of religion and the "lucky tree" in the field of geomantic omen.
Historically, it has been called the "Royal Tree" because it symbolizes power and status, is the "golden tree" in the modern market economy, and is Australia's "cash cow".
Identification of Dalbergia odorifera in Laoshan Mountain
First, the top grade Laoshan sandalwood should be uniform in color and delicate in material, and it is considered that the weathered old wood in the deep mountains is the best.
Second, the top sandalwood should be crystal clear with the texture of rhinoceros horn after patina.
Thirdly, the annual rings and longitudinal texture of sandalwood change from inconspicuous to inconspicuous with the growth of tree age. The older the tree is, the less obvious the rings and textures are. So sandalwood with obvious texture is not top sandalwood.
Fourth, top-grade Laoshan sandalwood can ensure stable quality. Regarding the problem of sandalwood cracking, after twenty or thirty years of logging, the wood properties of old sandalwood have been very stable, and all the cracked ones have cracked (the so-called sandalwood is hollow or dark, which is used to describe old sandalwood and is also very vivid), and those without cracking have been very stable.