Sandalwood vs. Cedarwood — What's the Difference?

Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades.

The wood of the cedar tree.

Any of several tropical Asian hemiparasitic trees of the genus Santalum, especially S. album, having aromatic yellowish heartwood used in cabinetmaking and wood carving and yielding an oil used in perfumery.

The durable aromatic wood of any of numerous cedar and cedarlike trees; especially the wood of the red cedar, often used for cedar chests.

Any of several other tropical Asian trees, especially those of the genera Adenanthera and Pterocarpus that yield a hard wood and a red dye.

Durable aromatic wood of any of numerous cedar trees; especially wood of the red cedar often used for cedar chests

The wood of any of these trees.

A light to moderate or grayish brown.

Any of various tropical trees of the genus Santalum, native or long naturalized in India, Australia, Hawaii, and many south Pacific islands.

The aromatic heartwood of these trees used in ornamental carving, in the construction of insect-repellent boxes and chests, and as a source of certain perfumes.

The highly perfumed yellowish heartwood of an East Indian and Polynesian tree (Santalum album), and of several other trees of the same genus, as the Hawaiian Santalum Freycinetianum and S. pyrularium, the Australian S. latifolium, etc. The name is extended to several other kinds of fragrant wood.

Close-grained fragrant yellowish heartwood of the true sandalwood; has insect-repelling properties and is used for carving and cabinetwork