Botanical Name Tectona grandis

Common Name Teak Tree, Indian oak

Local Name สัก, Mai-Sak, Sak

Family Labiatae

Area Of Origin Native to large primary forests in Asia (Laos, Myanmar and Thailand).

Flowering
Fruiting / J / F / M / A / M / J / J / A / S / O / N / D

Dry / wet Intermediate

Sun / shade Sun

Altitude 0-1200m

Mature Size Up to 40m, large tree

Growth Rate 2-3cm trunk diameter increase per year during the first 20 years, then it gets lower.

Max Age Can live up to 100 years.

Description

Deciduous in dry season (Dec-Mar). Leaves very large, 15-60x12-35cm, broadly ovate or oval. Mature leave rough above, softly hairy below. Stalk narrowly winged. Bark pale brown, thin, flaking in narrow vertical strips, inner bark white. Flower 0.7-0.9cm, white in widely-branched pyramidal clusters at end of twigs, to 50cm. Fruit 2cm, thin papery hull, inside hard silky-hairy stone with 4 cavities with 1 seed each. Crown open with many small branches. Often buttressed. NOTE: Formerly major component of moister deciduous forests (Teak Forests) in North Thailand, but almost completely logged out in its natural habitat, but it regenerates quickly even on degraded land.

Ethno Botany

Teak is a yellowish brown timber with good grains and texture. The wood is oily to the touch. Its natural oils make it useful in exposed locations. They make the timber termite and pest resistant and so durable even when not treated. It is used for outdoor furniture, boat decks, and other articles where weather resistance is desired. It is also used for cutting boards, indoor flooring, and countertops and as a veneer for indoor furnishings. It is brittle and therefore less suitable for articles requiring high resilience, such as tool handles and sporting goods. Also used for pulp and paper, MDF board and sawn timber. Local wood uses include tools, handicraft, construction and agro-forestry. Teakwood has been used for charcoal and fuel wood, it is a good fire starter, but nowadays it is usually considered too valuable for anything but pruning remnants and other rejects to be used in this way. Root bark and young leaves produce a yellowish-brown or reddish dye, which is used for paper, clothes and matting. In traditional medicine, a wood powder paste has been used against bilious headaches and swellings and internally against dermatitis or as a vermifuge. The charred wood soaked in poppy juice and made into a paste has been used to relieve the swelling of the eyelids. The bark has been used as an astringent and the wood as a hair tonic.

Animal / Plant Host

Caterpillar of Hyblaea and Pyrausta feed on teak leaves. Teak is a host plant for caterpillar of the Endoclita moth, several woodborers and other Lepidoptera including Turnip Moth. Crowns are often host semi-parasitic mistletoes, such as Loranthus spp. and Dendrophthoe falcate.