Santalales is an order of flowering plants, also known as the sandalwood order, containing 7 or 14 families, 151 genera, and about 1,990 species. All species are parasitic to some degree, attaching to the roots or branches of host plants via a specialized organ called the haustorium that absorbs water and nutrients. Santalales can range in size from 18 meters (about 60 feet) tall to 3 mm (0.1 inch) tall. Many members of the Santalales, such as sandalwood and mistletoe, have been important in religious rituals and folk customs since antiquity. However, some genera can cause serious damage to economically important plants. Most members have simple leaves, and their flowers may or may not have petals or sepals.

What types of plants belong to the Santalales order?

The Santalales order consists of perennial herbs, shrubs, and trees that are parasitic to varying degrees, attaching to the roots or branches of host plants. Key families within the Santalales order include:

Where can Santalales plants be found in the world?

Santalales, also known as the sandalwood order, includes about 1,990 species across 7 or 14 families. All families in the order are parasitic to some degree, attaching to the roots or branches of host plants. These plants are distributed in tropical and temperate regions. Mistletoes, such as Dendropthoe in India and Struthanthus in tropical America, can cause damage to economically important plants, while Arceuthobium species attack conifers in western North America.

What are some unique features of Santalales plants?

Santalales, also known as the sandalwood order, consists of perennial herbs, shrubs, and trees, all of which are parasitic to varying degrees. They attach to the roots or branches of host plants via a specialized organ called the haustorium, which penetrates the host's living tissue and absorbs water and nutrients. Most Santalales members have simple leaves without stipules, and some have surface hairs on their leaves or stems. Flowers often have petals or sepals, and the ovaries are usually inferior in position. Santalales vary significantly in size, from 18 meters (60 feet) tall to the dwarf mistletoe ( Arceuthobium minutissimum ), one of the smallest vascular plants.

How do many Santalales plants get their nutrients?

Santalales are parasitic plants that obtain water and nutrients from host plants through a specialized organ called a haustorium. The haustorium penetrates the host's living tissue and connects to its xylem, facilitating the transfer of water and nutrients. While some Santalales, like mistletoe, possess chlorophyll and can produce food through photosynthesis, they still rely on their hosts for water and mineral nutrients, thus they are hemiparasitic. Other members of Santalales lack chlorophyll.

Why are Santalales important to their ecosystems or to humans?

Santalales, an order of semiparasitic plants, have diverse impacts on ecosystems and human activities. Mistletoes, such as Dendropthoe and Struthanthus , can cause significant damage to economically important plants like cacao, rubber, citrus, and other fruit trees. Arceuthobium species attack conifers, causing witches'-broom, while Phoradendron species target walnuts, oaks, and some conifers. However, many Santalales species have been important for their use in religious rituals and folk customs since antiquity. Sandalwood was used in religious ritual in Egypt as early as 1700 BCE and probably earlier in Asia, where it is prized today by Hindus, Buddhists, Parsis, and the Muslims of Southeast Asia. It is also used for wood carving and as a source of oil.

Santalales

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Quick Facts

Related Topics:: mistletoe; Loranthaceae; Misodendraceae; Opiliaceae; Olacaceae

See all related content

Santalales

plant order

Also known as: sandalwood order

Written by

Kenneth J. Sytsma

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

Top Questions

What is Santalales?
Santalales is an order of flowering plants, also known as the sandalwood order, containing 7 or 14 families, 151 genera, and about 1,990 species. All species are parasitic to some degree, attaching to the roots or branches of host plants via a specialized organ called the haustorium that absorbs water and nutrients. Santalales can range in size from 18 meters (about 60 feet) tall to 3 mm (0.1 inch) tall.

Many members of the Santalales, such as sandalwood and mistletoe, have been important in religious rituals and folk customs since antiquity. However, some genera can cause serious damage to economically important plants. Most members have simple leaves, and their flowers may or may not have petals or sepals.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Santalales
2. Santalaceae: Physical description
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What types of plants belong to the Santalales order?
The Santalales order consists of perennial herbs, shrubs, and trees that are parasitic to varying degrees, attaching to the roots or branches of host plants.

Key families within the Santalales order include:
- Santalaceae: Consisting of 44 genera and about 1,000 species, members can be herbaceous to woody and parasitize roots or stems. Genera include Thesium, Phoradendron, Viscum, Dendrophthora, and Santalum.
- Loranthaceae: With roughly 77 genera and 950 species, these are typically stem parasites. Examples include Tapinanthus, Amyema, Psittacanthus, and Struthanthus. The Australian Christmas tree (Nuytsia floribunda) also belongs to this family.
- Balanophoraceae: This family includes about 14 genera and 40 species of root parasites found mainly in the tropics. Balanophora and Langsdorffia are genera within this family.
- Olacaceae: A tropical woody family containing 14 to 30 genera and 100 to 165 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas. They have haustorial connections to their hosts.
- Opiliaceae: A tropical woody family of 12 genera and about 35 species.
- Schoepfiaceae: Represented by the single genus Schoepfia, encompassing roughly 30 species of shrubs or trees from tropical and subtropical Asia and America.
- Misodendraceae: This family is composed of the single genus Misodendrum, with eight species exclusively growing on Nothofagus in South America.
1 Britannica Source
1. Santalales
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where can Santalales plants be found in the world?
Santalales, also known as the sandalwood order, includes about 1,990 species across 7 or 14 families. All families in the order are parasitic to some degree, attaching to the roots or branches of host plants.

These plants are distributed in tropical and temperate regions. Mistletoes, such as Dendropthoe in India and Struthanthus in tropical America, can cause damage to economically important plants, while Arceuthobium species attack conifers in western North America.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Santalales
2. Santalaceae
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some unique features of Santalales plants?
Santalales, also known as the sandalwood order, consists of perennial herbs, shrubs, and trees, all of which are parasitic to varying degrees. They attach to the roots or branches of host plants via a specialized organ called the haustorium, which penetrates the host's living tissue and absorbs water and nutrients.

Most Santalales members have simple leaves without stipules, and some have surface hairs on their leaves or stems. Flowers often have petals or sepals, and the ovaries are usually inferior in position. Santalales vary significantly in size, from 18 meters (60 feet) tall to the dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium minutissimum), one of the smallest vascular plants.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Santalales
2. Santalaceae: Physical description
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do many Santalales plants get their nutrients?
Santalales are parasitic plants that obtain water and nutrients from host plants through a specialized organ called a haustorium. The haustorium penetrates the host's living tissue and connects to its xylem, facilitating the transfer of water and nutrients. While some Santalales, like mistletoe, possess chlorophyll and can produce food through photosynthesis, they still rely on their hosts for water and mineral nutrients, thus they are hemiparasitic. Other members of Santalales lack chlorophyll.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why are Santalales important to their ecosystems or to humans?
Santalales, an order of semiparasitic plants, have diverse impacts on ecosystems and human activities. Mistletoes, such as Dendropthoe and Struthanthus, can cause significant damage to economically important plants like cacao, rubber, citrus, and other fruit trees. Arceuthobium species attack conifers, causing witches'-broom, while Phoradendron species target walnuts, oaks, and some conifers.

However, many Santalales species have been important for their use in religious rituals and folk customs since antiquity. Sandalwood was used in religious ritual in Egypt as early as 1700 BCE and probably earlier in Asia, where it is prized today by Hindus, Buddhists, Parsis, and the Muslims of Southeast Asia. It is also used for wood carving and as a source of oil.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Santalales: Characteristics
2. Santalaceae
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Santalales, the sandalwood order of flowering plants, consisting of 7 or 14 families, 151 genera, and about 1,990 species. All the families in Santalales are parasitic to some degree, attaching to either roots or branches of their hosts. They include Santalaceae, Loranthaceae, Balanophoraceae, Olacaceae (which is sometimes divided into seven families), Opiliaceae, Schoepfiaceae, and Misodendraceae. Santalales is placed among the superasterids in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV botanical classification system (see angiosperm).

Characteristics

The perennial herbs, shrubs, and trees that constitute the order range in size from 18 metres (60 feet) tall to Arceuthobium minutissimum (dwarf mistletoe), one of the smallest of the vascular plants, whose flowering stems extend no more than about 3 mm (0.1 inch) from the host plant.

Many members of Santalales have been important for their use in religious rituals and folk customs since antiquity. Viscum album (mistletoe), known for centuries before the birth of Christ, is used by Christians throughout Europe and North America during the Christmas season. Sandalwood was used in religious ritual in Egypt as early as 1700 bce and probably earlier in Asia, where it is prized today by Hindus, Buddhists, Parsis, and the Muslims of Southeast Asia. It is also used for wood carving and as a source of oil.

Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap

Britannica Quiz

Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous

The mistletoes—such as the genera Dendropthoe of India and Struthanthus of tropical America—are significant because they cause serious damage to such economically important plants as cacao, rubber, citrus, and other fruit trees. Members of Arceuthobium attack the conifers of western North America, causing witches’-broom, while members of Phoradendron attack walnuts, oaks, and some conifers of the United States.

All known members of Santalales are parasitic. The most obvious evidence of parasitism in these plants is the occurrence of the haustorium, a specialized organ that penetrates the living tissue of its host and absorbs water and nutrients, transferring them to the parasite through partial fusion of the xylems (water-conducting tissues) of the host and parasite. In most members of Santalaceae, the haustorium fragments and branches out through the host’s softer tissues. In some species of Arceuthobium, a threadlike system develops that may reach into the growing point of the host.

Nearly all members of Santalales have simple leaves that lack stipules (small leaflike appendages at the base of the leaf). A few species have surface hairs on their leaves or stems. Flowers of many members of the order have either petals or sepals or neither, although some have both. The stamens (male organs) usually equal the number of petals and occur opposite the lobes of the petals. In most members of the order, the ovaries (female organs) are inferior in position. Seed-producing ovules are few.

Families

Members of Santalaceae are herbaceous to woody and are parasitic on roots or stems. The family includes the former family Viscaceae (traditional mistletoe family) to maintain it as a monophyletic group. As such, it contains 44 genera and about 1,000 species. Most members of the family belong to the herbaceous genera Thesium (325 species), Phoradendron (235 species; tropical mistletoe), Viscum (65 species), or Dendrophthora (65 species). Santalum (sandalwood) includes about 25 tree species from Indo-Malaysia to the Pacific Islands. The wood is very fragrant and has been used for making chests, burned as incense, and harvested to extract an oil for medicinal and cosmetic uses. The populations of many species have been nearly decimated by overexploitation.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

Members of Loranthaceae are usually stem parasites, forming a burl at the point of attachment and haustorial roots penetrating into the host stems. The family is worldwide in distribution and includes about 77 genera and 950 species. Their leaves are usually opposite, rather thick and brittle, with entire margins and inconspicuous venation. The flowers are usually long-tubular, often brightly coloured, with an inferior ovary and a poorly developed calyx. The fruits are fleshy, produce a kind of rubber, and are often bird-dispersed; most have a sticky viscidium that adheres readily to the bark of trees, where they are likely to germinate. Some of the larger genera include the tropical African Tapinanthus (250 species), the Southeast Asian and Australian Amyema (95 species), and the South American genera Psittacanthus (50 species) and Struthanthus (50 species). The Australian Christmas tree (Nuytsia floribunda) is a parasitic tree. This family contains many of the mistletoes, most of the rest being in Santalaceae.

Balanophoraceae includes about 14 genera and about 40 species of root parasites that are distributed primarily throughout the tropics. Plants of the genera Balanophora and Langsdorffia contain an inflammable waxy material, and the stems have been used as candles in South America.

The taxonomically contentious Olacaceae is another tropical woody family, with 14 to 30 genera and about 100 to 165 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas. Although many members may not appear parasitic (they are considered hemiparasites), they have haustorial connections to their hosts. Members of Olacaceae produce rather large nuts, often with the calyx persistent and forming a collar around the base of the fruit. The solitary seeds, containing endosperm (special nutrient tissue), are usually dependent upon birds for their dispersal.

Opiliaceae is a tropical woody family of 12 genera and about 35 species. Its leaves are usually two-ranked (distichous), and they barely show any venation on the blades. Many have small bumps caused by the presence of crystal bodies or cystoliths. Their flowers are small, borne in almost catkinlike clusters, and there is only one perianth whorl and a superior ovary with a single pendulous ovule.

The approximately 30 species of Schoepfia, the only genus in Schoepfiaceae, are shrubs or trees from tropical and subtropical Asia and America.

The eight members of Misodendrum, the only genus in the South American family Misodendraceae, are restricted to growing on members of Nothofagus (false beech, or southern beech).

Kenneth J. Sytsma

Santalales

Characteristics

Thank you for signing up!

Families