Iliahi 2020 : Artisan Hawaiian Paniculatum Sandalwood Oil

Jungle : Big Island, Hawai’i
Species : Paniculatum, Iliahi
Class : Old, Wild


Part of my Mission has been to offer THE widest and most diverse offerings of premium quality products in various "aromatic classes" - namely Pure Ouds, Attars, Incense Sticks, Select Raw Materials, Select Natural Perfumer's Oils - and the absolute BEST Artisan Sandalwood Oil selection anywhere on the Net.

One glaring product in the artisan Sandalwood selection has been a Hawaiin Paniculatum.

As is often the case - I set out to make something at the request (read that as DEMAND) of quite a few clients. Your wait is over my friends.

I've had quite a bit of old Heartwood and Roots on hand for several years and have been meaning to get around to juicing some of them. I got these directly from the land owners, who only take down dead or damaged trees, and have been working to plant millions of new saplings on over 50,000 acres of private land. Well ... I got around to it.

I'd like to introduce to you 2020 Iliahi : Artisan Hawaiian Paniculatum Sandalwood Oil by Rising Phoenix.




SCENT

Hawaiian Sandalwoods have a long history in the international trade, which I'll get more to in a moment. I'd like to talk about it's distinctive scent first.

Sandalwood family or Santalaceae which comprises about 1,000 species worldwide and includes several species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands in the genera Santalum, Exocarpus and Korthalsella.

Currently there are six endemic species in the Hawaiian Archipelago.

Most famous is Santalum Album, with it's smooth buttery notes found in old material, historically from India or Indonesia.

Santalum Paniculatum has historically been overlooked as it tends not to be as buttery. Most of the oils I've smelled have been kinda weak smelling. Lacking good Heart or Base Notes. Some say it can be unpleasant. And for a Perfumer - there's a general "scent expectation" needed when composing.

I wanted to change this.

Well - a good deal of this is actually because MANY different species are sold as "Sandalwood" from the Hawaiin Islands - and not all of them are pleasant smelling. Namely those from Exocarpus and Korthalsella. Easy fix - get the right, single species, Paniculatum.

The other part of this fix - is breaking away from "what Sandalwood SHOULD smell like" (ie - like butter) - a challenge I've been pretty successful at undertaking with close to 20 different Sandalwood odor profiles from multiple different regions I've offered to date. From the almost almond croissant note from Umami Crema, to the fresh polished floors of Kopondai Flores, to the almost Oud-like scent of the Deep and Buttery Series from distilling Indian Sandalwood like a Hindi Oud ... with a soak! I've been breaking down barriers and broadening the olfactory scent profiles of what we all love.

I think we've broken the mold here yet again with 2020 Iliahi.


Expect powerful high mountain airy notes coupled with strong florals and a very distinctive musky note that wears just beautifully on skin. I find the longevity on skin to also be pretty impressive.

Overall I'd say to expect a "floral musk" Sandalwood note, with some buttery notes in the dry down ... although on my skin I get more musk musk musk the longer it goes.

I've been finding it pairs nicely with other woods, and, of course - it's holding florals quite nicely.


ABOUT


Sandalwoods, interestingly, are hemi-parasitic.

It is important to plant native sandalwood with a host plant, such as Koa, Koaiʻa or Naio. Sandalwoods always need a minimum of 3 other species grown around it to thrive, making them great at forest diversity.

Now - not to be confusing ... there is Iliahi alo'e, and Iliahialo'e. Santalum paniculaturm and Santalum ellipticum.

The Hawai'in names for these two seem to be rather interchangable. The scientific names are not. So it's important to get Paniculatum.


HAWAI'IN NAMES


ʻIliahi aloʻe
Lāʻau ʻala
ʻIliahialoʻe

Iliahi aloe
Iliahialoe
Laau ala


COMMON NAMES


Coast sandalwood
Coastal sandalwood


Santalum ellipticum is one of the “white-fowered” sandalwoods along with ʻiliahi (S. paniculatum) and ʻiliahi or Involute sandalwood (S. involutum). The white flowers are another reason these two often get confused.

ʻIliahialoʻe produces clusters of tiny greenish-white or cream-colored mild to very fragrant blossoms which are dioecious.

ʻIliahialoʻe and ʻiliahi belong to the Sandalwood family or Santalaceae which comprises about 1,000 species worldwide and includes several species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands in the genera Santalum, Exocarpus and Korthalsella.

Currently there are six endemic species in the Hawaiian Archipelago.


ETYMOLOGY


The generic name Santalum is derived from santalon, the Greek name for sandalwood.



In Hawai'in - Lāʻau ʻala literally means “sweet wood” or “fragrant wood.”


BACKGROUND INFO


ʻIliahi and ʻiliahialoʻe are hemiparasitic, which means they derive some nutrients from their host but are not totally dependent on them as are other native plants such as mistletoe or hulumoa (Korthalsella spp.), kaunaʻoa (Cuscuta sandwichiana), and kaunaʻoa pehu (Cassytha filiformis)—all of which are parasitic.


The Sandalwood Trade Story:


As with other Hawaiian sandalwoods, ʻiliahialoʻe was subject to the Sandalwood trade from 1790 to the early 1800’s. Most of the sandalwood shipped from Hawaiʻi came from the lowlands and this species was one of those used in the trade.

The captivating scent of the heartwood has fueled greed among men throughout the world. This was the case with a collaboration of Chinese, American and Hawaiian merchants and monarchy in the late 18th century. Due to China’s, as well as a few other countries, insatiable appetite for sandalwood, the white sandalwood (Santalum album) imported from India was becoming scarce because of over harvesting and, even to this day, it is an endangered species.

With fewer imports from India, and with the help of American fur traders, China now turned their attention to the Hawaiian sandalwoods or ʻiliahi and ʻiliahialoʻe. From the 1790’s to mid-1830’s, ʻiliahi and the Hawaiian people who harvested the logs experienced an incredible hardship with the exportation of sandalwood to China. For obvious reasons, the Chinese in the Canton-Macao area began to call the Hawaiian Islands Tang Heung Shan [Tahn Heung Sahn], or the “Sandalwood Mountains.”

Many thousands of Hawaiians, at the order of the aliʻi, under Kamehameha I (the Great), left off agriculture and worked to supply the Sandalwood Trade. The consequences were devastating. Many of the common people (makaʻāinana) who were used as laborers died from exposure to cold weather, exhaustion, malnutrition, disease or other causes. As a result, during this dark period Hawaiʻi suffered through one of the worst famines in its history.

By the mid-1830’s, the sandalwood supply was nearly exhausted and the remaining inferior or smaller pieces were driving prices and demand down. Even naio (Myoporum spp.) was trying to be passed off as genuine sandalwood with little success. Naio has thus acquired the pitiful nickname “bastard sandalwood.”

In 1839, King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) placed a kapu on the remaining ʻiliahi, reserving it for himself. By 1840 the Hawaiian sandalwood trade basically came to a finish. Fortunately, the people, the land and the ʻiliahi have recovered but not without scars. While not as common as in the past, ʻiliahi and ʻiliahialoʻe are fairly easy to see in its native habitat though very large trees are still difficult to find.


Early Hawaiian Use

Though early Hawaiians may not have used sandalwood extensively, it was still valued.

Clothing:

The fragrant heartwood and bark of ʻiliahialoʻe was pounded to scent the bad odor of new kapa (tapa), and when added with coconut oil that would water proof the material.

Lei:

One older source (Charles Gaudichaud,1819) states that Hawaiians “used all fragrant plants, all flowers and even colored fruits” for lei making. The red or yellow were indicative of divine and chiefly rank; the purple flowers and fruit, or with fragrance, were associated with divinity. The leaves, new leaves (liko) and flowers of ʻiliahialoʻe were used for lei making by early Hawaiians. Because of their long-standing place in oral tradition, the leaves, new leaves (liko) and flowers of ʻiliahialoʻe were likely used for lei making by early Hawaiians, even though there are no written sources.

Medicinal:

The leaves were used as a shampoo for dandruff and head lice; and a drink from powdered material for male and female sex organs or “for sores of long duration.”

Materials: Artisan Sandalwood,Paniculatum,Hawaiin Sandalwood,Iliahi