English Name / Common name- Teak
Local Name- ತೇಗ
Botanical Name- Tectona Grandis
Appearance- It is a large deciduous tree up to 40m (131 feet) tall with grey to greyish-brown branches, known for its high-quality woods. Teak wood tends to be golden or medium brown. Its color darkens over time. The branches terminate in many small white flowers in large, erect, cross-branched panicles. The fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a stony seed) 1.7 cm (two-thirds of an inch) in diameter. The bark of the stem is about 1.3 cm (half an inch) thick, gray or brownish-gray, the sapwood white; the unseasoned heartwood has a pleasant and strongly aromatic fragrance and a beautiful golden yellow color, which on seasoning darkens into brown, mottled with darker streaks.
Origin- Teak is native to South and Southeast Asia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Burma.
The condition required for Growth- Teak grows well on moist sites. To produce high-quality timber trees, the site should be subjected to a dry period of 3-5 months duration. Teak soil is deep, well-drained, and alluvial with high calcium, organic matter, and other element content.
Uses- The wood is used for boat building, exterior construction, veneer, furniture, carving, turnings, and other small wood projects.
Common Remedies-
- To reduce headache (Part of the tree used - Bark) : Teak bark paste is applied to the forehead to reduce pain. Teak bark should be taken with little water and should be ground till it is a consistent paste without hard bark pieces.
- To relieve pain from sores, cuts and ulcers (Part of the tree used - Leaves ): Fresh leaves juice is applied on them. Leaves juice can be made by grinding it some water
