Tectona grandis L. f.
തേക്ക്


Family: VERBENACEAE
Sub-Family: Not available
English Name: Teak
Synonym: Jatus grandis (L.f.)Kuntze
Common Name: Indian Oak
Flowering & Fruiting Period: May – January
Distribution: South and South East Asia
Habitat: Moist deciduous forests, also raised in plantations
Uses: Timber yielding. A wood tar paste is made from the powdered wood by putting it into hot water. It is vermifuge; promotes digestion; is effective in relieving bilious headaches and tooth aches; reduces inflammations or eruptions of the skin. The bark has been used as an astringent and in the treatment of bronchitis. The flowers are diuretic. They are used to treat biliousness, bronchitis and urinary disorders. Oil extracted from the seeds promotes hair growth.
Key Characteristics: Teaks are deciduous trees, bark yellowish-brown, rough. Leaves simple, opposite, ovate, margin entire. Flowers bisexual, white, in terminal cymose panicles. Calyx, campanulate, lobes 5-6, subequal, ovate, tomentose. Corolla, lobes 5-6, oblong, spreading. Stamens 5-6, equal, erect, inserted at the throat, exserted; anthers oblong. Ovary globose, superior, densely hairy, 4-celled, 1 ovule in each cell. Fruit a drupe.