Tectona grandis

Tectona grandis

Biggest Plant Dictionary | Tectona grandis | A large to very large deciduous tree having height upto 35 meters; bark having brown or grey colour and shallow longitudinal furrows; Leaves simple, opposite, broadly elliptical or obovate, acute or acuminate, coriaceous, possessing minute glandular dots; Flowers white, many, small, having pleasant smell, in large erect terminal branched tomentose cymose bladder like calyx; seeds usually 1-3, ovate, marble white. 

Tectona grandis was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in his 1782 work Supplementum Plantarum. In 1975, Harold Norman Moldenke published new descriptions of four forms of this species in the journal Phytologia. Moldenke described each form as varying slightly from the type specimen: T. grandis f. canescens is distinguished from the type material by being densely canescent, or covered in hairs, on the underside of the leaf, T. grandis f. pilosula is distinct from the type material in the varying morphology of the leaf veins, T. grandis f. punctata is only hairy on the larger veins on the underside of the leaf, and T. grandis f. tomentella is noted for its dense yellowish tomentose hairs on the lower surface of the leaf.

Uses
Tectona grandis is the source of a high quality general purpose hardwood known as teak. The timber is used for ship decking, flooring, furniture and construction. It is particularly recommended for construction in seaside environments (such as bridges and docks) because it is resistant to shipworm, a wood-boring sea mollusc (Teredo spp., Teredinidae). Quinones in the sawdust inhibit the growth of several species of the fungi that cause wood rot.

PLANTATIONS IN INDONESIA

Indonesia is something of a special case, because teak was introduced into the island of Java, for reasons both religious and economic,by Hindu monks, in the 14th century, with seed from India. Here, teak found very good growing conditions. It regenerates naturally in several sites in the island, and so much so that at the turn of the century it was even thought to come originally from Indonesia. The Dutch discovered teak in Indonesia in the 17th century and very swiftly started to log it intensively. In the early 19th century, rules restricting logging were drawn up, at the same time as Forest Management Centres were setup by the State, with an economic goal.These centres, which were at first answerable to the Ministry of Agriculture, became independent. and assumed a special status in 1961, with the name of Perhutani. In 1978, they formed two groups : Persero Perhutanion the island of Kalimantan, and Perum Perhutani, on the island of Java. This latter

has become quite important and presides over the largest man-made teak forest in the world, totalling almost 1.1 million hectares, split into 650 000 hectares in production, in other words actively managed, and 450 000 hectares that are “protected”, encompassing fairly inaccessible plots that are not logged, and old plots that are unmanaged, and regenerate naturally.

Tectona grandis

The area of teak plantations has doubled since 1950, and is still expanding in more than 50 countries, due to the vogue for this species. Teak wood production, which is currently estimated at 4 million cu.m, will rise to more than 20 million cu.m by the year 2020. The very strong demand for the timber of this species should absorb this roduction. Based on quality, marked price swings are to be expected for this timber. The number one quality riterion will be the log diameter, followed by the density of the wood, its colour and its shelf life.