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Pterocarpus santalinus L.f.

Synonym	:	Lingoum santalinum (L.f.) Kuntze
Family	:	Leguminosae
Local name	:	English - Red sanders, Red sandalwood Malayalam - Rakthachandanam
Flowering and fruiting period	:	September-January
Distribution	:	Peninsular India
Distribution in Kerala	:	Thrissur, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Malappuram
Habitat	:	Cultivated
IUCN Status	:	Near threatened
Endemic/Exotic	:	Exotic
Uses	:	It is used in traditional herbal medicine as antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, tonic, aphrodisiac, anti-hyperglycaemic and diaphoretic.
Key Botanical Characters: A small to medium-sized, deciduous tree with a dense, rounded crown; bark blackish-brown, deeply cut into rectangular plates, yielding deep red latex when cut. Leaves usually imparipinnate; leaflets 3, rarely 4-5, broadly ovate or orbicular, coriaceous, apex obtuse. Flowers yellow, borne a few together in simple or sparingly branched racemes; calyx teeth minute, deltoid. Fruits (pods) obliquely orbicular. Seeds 1-2, reddish-brown, smooth, leathery.