Tectona grandis (teak)

Tectona grandis has a natural distribution from India to Vietnam and Thailand. It is also found in cultivation throughout the tropics.
 

Copy of an illustration commissioned by William Roxburgh, watercolour on paper, by unknown Indian Artist, 19th century (Image: RBG Kew)
 

Teak is a tree up to 40 m high.

The bark is scaly and the leaves are opposite one another.

The leaves are 6 – 75 cm long, 8 - 45 cm wide, and hairless on the upper surface when mature, with many star-shaped hairs below.

The calyxes (sepals) form a balloon-like shape enveloping the fruit.

The corolla (petals) is regular, and white to cream-coloured.

The fruit is pale yellow, of 1.2 to 2 cm diameter, and covered with star-shaped hairs.

Although the species itself is common, the unique teak forests of India, Burma and Thailand are under threat from over-exploitation.

Kew's Millennium Seed Bank partnership aims to save plant life world wide, focusing on plants under threat and those of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault.

Collections stored in the Millennium Seed Bank: 1
Seed storage behaviour: Orthodox - the seeds of this plant survive being dried without significantly reducing their viability, and are therefore amenable to long-term frozen storage such as at the MSB
Composition values: Oil content 34%

Tectona grandis grows best in a warm, tropical climate with a temperature above 22 ºC. Teak prefers well-drained, fertile soils and is a strong light demander. Trees are 96 to 100% self-incompatible. The species is hermaphroditic and pollinated by insects, especially bees. Propagation by seed involves pre-treatment to break the dormancy, involving wetting and drying the seed every 12 hours, over a period of two weeks. When seeds are sown in a mix of sand and coir, at 22 to 25ºC, germination will take place within two to four weeks. The germination rate is low, and teak seedlings need shading. Vegetative propagation can be achieved by grafting and budding. Tissue cultures have also been developed for the propagation of teak.

This species belongs to the Lamiaceae family, which is a particular research focus for Kew.

Find out more about the mint family (Lamiaceae)

Learn more about the genus Tectona

See the World Checklist of Lamiaceae and Verbenaceae

Search Kew's databases for more information on this species