Santalum album
- noun
- Specialized
- The wood of Santalum album is highly valued for its fragrance and durability.
Examples
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Traditional carvings in India often use Santalum album because of its fine grain.
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The Santalum album tree grows well in tropical climates.
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Many perfumes contain oil extracted from Santalum album trees.
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Many artisans use Santalum album wood for crafting furniture.
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Many perfumes contain oil extracted from Santalum album trees.
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The wood of Santalum album is highly valued for its fragrance and durability.
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Many artisans use Santalum album wood for crafting furniture.
Synonyms
1
5.6
A tree from Indonesia and Malaysia with sweet-smelling inner wood used to make perfume, oil, and furniture
A tree that grows on other plants in Indonesia and Malaysia with yellow, fragrant wood that repels insects
Surface Forms
Morphology
Santalum + album
This is a Latin binomial (genus + species). Knowing 'Santalum' would suggest a sandalwood tree, so a learner who knows the genus could infer it names a tree, but the species epithet 'album' is a Latin label (not the common English word 'album') and the detailed properties (native range, fragrant heartwood, uses) are encyclopaedic rather than compositional. Because some basic inference (that it is a kind of tree) is possible but the full meaning is not predictable from ordinary English word knowledge, it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Santalum album is the name of a sandalwood tree; Santalum points to 'sandalwood' and album means 'white' in Latin. Think of its pale, sweet-smelling heartwood used for chests and to keep insects away, so the name helps you remember this fragrant, useful wood.