Family: Fabaceae; Pterocarpus santalinus

• Local names: (Telugu) Erra chandanm and Rakta chandanam; (English) Red Sanders
• Photographed at Velugonda Hills of the Eastern Ghats. Found in rock crevices of the hilly area.
• Distribution: Found only in a limited area. Endemic to southern parts of Eastern Ghats of Peninsular India.

• Moderate sized tree. Bark blackish-brown,deeply cleft in to rectangular plates, wood extremely hard, reddish black. Leaves alternate, 1-3 foliate,coriaceous,leaf-lets ovate-orbicular.
• Flowers: yellow in terminal racemes or panicles. Calyx short, companulate, sub connate, curved; Corolla 5, standard orbicular, crisped, wings oblique, keels small and oblique; stamens 10, in two bundles of 5 each, ovary sessile, 2-6 ovuled; Pod with a broad wing, compressed, orbicular.

• This plant is on the IUCM Red List, as an endangered plant by BSI and IUCN; As the wood is highily valuable the plants are decreased in number in wild. Included in Appendix II of CITES . Trade of wood, logs, powder and extracts is a punishable crime.