the.com/sandalwood
a tree so precious it gets poached, smuggled, and guarded like cocaine of the forest.
Slow growerTakes 15 years before heartwood is worth harvesting.
Parasite rootsIt steals nutrients from neighboring plants to survive.
Smuggling targetIndian red sandalwood fetches thousands per kilogram illegally.
Scent in heartwoodThe fragrance lives only in the tree's core, not bark.
Ritual fuelBurned in temples and funeral pyres for millennia.