Santalum Acuminatum - Taxonomy and Naming

Taxonomy and Naming

The species shares the common name quandong with other plants, bearing similar fruit, it may be distinguished as the 'desert' or 'sweet'. The name Quandong usually refers to the fruit of S. acuminatum in commercial usuage. Variant spelling includes quondong and quandang. The fruit and plant are also named sweet quandong and native peach. The plant was known to many different indigenous language groups, and is therefore known by many different names. The Wiradjuri people of New South Wales used the name guwandhang, from which the name quandong was adapted. Other indigenous names include; gutchu (Wotjobaluk, Western Victoria); wanjanu or mangata (Pitjantjatjara, Uluru), and goorti (Narungga).

The species was first described by Robert Brown, named in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae (1810) as Fusanus acuminatus, based on his type collection made at Fowlers Bay, South Australia, in 1802. Brown gave the Latin epithet acuminatus to denote the leaves – sharpened or pointed. The botanist Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle gave the current name in 1857, placing it in the genus Santalum; the genus containing Australian Sandalwood, Santalum spicatum, and White Sandalwood, Santalum album. Several botanical names have been deemed to be synonymous with Santalum acuminatum, as described in Flora of Australia (1984) and the Australian Plant Census (2006), these include: Santalum preissii F.Muell. in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae (1861); Santalum cognatum and Santalum preissianum of Miquel (1845); and Santalum densiflorum Gand. (1919).

Mida acuminata was given by Kuntze in an attempted revision, as with Eucarya acuminata (R.Br.) Sprague & Summerh..

A number of cultivars have been named in application for plant breeders' rights, two have been accepted and another has been granted. The first named cultivar of the species was named Powell’s # 1, but application for legal recognition of this name was withdrawn. The second is known as Powell’s Red Supreme. Two names are given as accepted applications in the Plant Varieties Journal: ‘Powell’s Red Supreme’ and ‘Saltbush Lane’.

One variety of Santalum acuminatum is named in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants; following the publication of a description, Santalum acuminatum 'Frahn's Paringa Gem' (Plant Varieties Journal 17:1) became the first cultivar to be receive legal protection.