Common Name Teak Tree, Indian Oak

Botanical Name Duranta erecta Common Name Teak Tree, Indian oak Local Name Mai-Sak, Sak Family Labiatae Area Of Origin Native of large primary forests in Asia (Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). J F M A M J J A S O N D Flowering Fruiting

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 to Mar). Leave very large, 15-60x12- 35cm, broadly obovate 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, 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.