TECTONA GRANDIS

TECTONA GRANDIS

Botanical Name: Tectona grandis L.
Common Name: Teak, Sagwan
Family : Verbenaceae

16.2
Plate 16.2 Tectona grandis L. tree

Description
  • Large deciduous tree up to 30 m high and 100 cm or more dbh
  • Long straight cylindrical bole up to 2/3 of the height of tree.
  • Deep tap root system
  • Bark pale brown, grey, striate, fibrous, peeling off in thin strips
  • Branch-lets are quadrangular and channelled
Distribution
  • Indigenous in peninsula of India, in North-Eastern drier part of Java and other islands of Indian Archipelago
  • The Nilambur in Kerala, manmade teak forest are known to foresters throughout world.
  • Natural habitat is between 10°N and 25°N on Indian subcontinent, in South-East Aisa especially in India, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Combodia, Vitenam and Indonesia.
  • It does not occur naturally in Malaysia
Site factors
Climate
  • Teak naturally occurs only in monsoon climate
  • Temperature - Maximum 48°C, Minimum 2°C
  • Rainfall - 700mm to 2200 mm
  • Altitude - 600m to 1200 msl.
Soil
  • It grows on variety of geological formations notably trap, limestone, granite, gneiss, mica schist, sandstone, quartzite and clay
  • Well drained, well ventilated soils with high oxygen content are best
  • Generally prefer soil between pH 6.0-8.5H
Phenology
  • Leaf-fall - Dry area- November to January
Wet area- March
       
  • Leaf renewal - May
  • Flowering - June to September
  • Fruiting - November to January
  • Seed collection - January/February
  • Seed viability - more than 1 year
  • Seed weight - 125 to 176 per 100 gm.
  • Germination - 60 to 80 per cent.
Silvicultural characters
  • Strong light demander
  • Frost tender
  • Drought and wind sensitive
  • Fire resistant
  • Not browsed
  • Good coppice
16.3
Plate 16.3 Tectona grandis L. fruits
Last modified: Tuesday, 22 May 2012, 8:48 AM