A large deciduous tree valued as one of the world's premier timbers, prized for its durability and water resistance.
Teak (Tectona grandis, family Lamiaceae) is a large tree, deciduous where the climate is seasonal, that can grow over 30 metres tall, with an open crown and a trunk up to 1 metre across, often buttressed and free of branches for up to 15 metres. Its timber is one of the most valued in the world for its rare combination of strength and durability, and it is widely planted for timber across the tropics, and sometimes as an ornamental for its large leaves and spreading flower clusters. Fine dust from machining the wood can irritate the skin and cause asthma.
It is native to India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, in tropical deciduous forest from sea level to 1,200 metres. It grows best in a warm, moist climate with a marked dry season and 1,200 to 2,500 mm of rain a year, on deep, well-drained, fertile alluvial soil; it does not tolerate waterlogging or poor lateritic soil, and it can be killed by temperatures near 3°C. Early growth is fast: an average of 13 metres in height after five years is not unusual. Its seed germinates poorly, usually less than half, and better after a year's storage, and fruits that have lain in the ground for 30 to 40 years have been known to germinate.
Source: Useful Tropical Plants database (Fern, K.).
A slow-growing plantation and forest timber tree, widely planted commercially across the tropics.