Pterocarpus santalinus, with the common names red sanders, red saunders, red sandalwood, Rakt Chandan, and saunderswood, is a species of Pterocarpus endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats mountain range of South India. This tree is valued for the rich red colour of its wood. The wood is not aromatic. The tree is not to be confused with the aromatic Santalum sandalwood trees that grow natively in South India.
Pterocarpus santalinus is a light-demanding small tree, growing to 8 metres (26 ft) tall with a trunk 50–150 cm diameter. It is fast-growing when young, reaching 5 metres (16 ft) tall in three years, even on degraded soils. It is not frost tolerant, being killed by temperatures of −1 °C.
The leaves are alternate, 3–9 cm long, trifoliate with three leaflets.
The flowers are produced in short racemes. The fruit is a pod 6–9 cm long containing one or two seeds.
The wood has historically been valued in China.
