Tectona grandis L. (Teak)
Nomenclature etc. VERBENACEAE. Trade and local names: Teak (D, GB, NL, WAN), Indien-, Burma-, Java-, Laos-, Thailand-, Rangoon-Teak (D), teck (F, I), kyun (BU), gia thi (VN), tadi, tek, sagwan (IND), djati (RI, MAL), kembal, semarang (RI), may sak (LAO, K, T), jat, sak (T), djatti (G), teca (E).
Tree. Geographic distribution: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and tropical Africa (cult.).
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct. Heartwood basically brown to yellow (golden brown), with streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct. Basic specific gravity 0.44–0.63–0.82 g/cm³. Greasy surface.
Vessels. Wood ring-porous, or semi-ring-porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 50–270 µm (50–100 in latewood, 140–270 in earlywood). Average number of vessels/mm² 4–6–9. Ring of earlywood vessels almost always uniseriate. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 5–6 µm, vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Tyloses in vessels present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids commonly present (only in latewood). Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 700–1400 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres septate and non-septate. Septate fibres evenly distributed. Fibres with light coloured to translucent contents in form of small droplets.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded (bands include earlywood vessels). Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty and vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 3–4.
Rays. Rays 5–7 per tangential mm, multiseriate, also if only few, (2–)3–4(–5) cells wide. Height of large rays commonly 500 to 1000 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type. Homocellular ray cells procumbent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals not observed. Silica present, as vitreous silica, in vessels (scaly lining of inner vessel walls).
Miscellaneous. • Wood surface (uniform colour). Tectona grandis. • Wood surface (with colour streaks). Tectona grandis.
Cite this publication as: H. G. Richter and M. J. Dallwitz (2000 onwards). 'Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval.' In English, French, German, and Spanish. Version: 4th May 2000. http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/.
Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993 onwards, 1995 onwards, 1998) should also be cited (see General references).
