It is not known where the sandalwood tree originally came from; it is now found in numerous areas of the tropics. It is particularly common in India, Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and South Africa.
 The tree is evergreen and can - depending on the location - reach sizes of up to 20 meters. In the wild, it can also occur as a shrub that can grow up to 4 meters. The leaves grow on leaf blades up to 15 centimeters long, branch there in two directions and reach a maximum size of 5x8 centimeters. After 3 to 4 years, sandalwood trees produce reddish-purple flowers, from which 1 centimeter, purple to black drupes develop, which are edible.