
African teak is a large deciduous tree growing to 50 metres (160 ft)
high. The trunk is bare lower down with the first branch usually at
least 20 metres (66 ft) above the ground. It often has several short
buttress roots at the base. The bark is pale or dark grey, thick but
little fissured, and if it gets damaged it oozes milky
latex.
There are a few thick branches in the crown all fairly horizontal
giving an umbrella shape. The smaller branches hang down in female trees
and curve up in male trees. The leaves are 5 to 10 centimetres (2.0 to
3.9 in) long, ovate or elliptical with a finely toothed edge, green and
smooth above and slightly downy beneath. Older leaves turn yellow, and
all the leaves have a prominent rectangular mesh of veins visible on the
underside. The trees are
dioecious.
Male trees have white catkins that extend to 15 to 20 centimetres (5.9
to 7.9 in) and dangle from twigs at the axils of the leaves. Female
trees have flower spikes measuring 5 to 6 centimetres (2.0 to 2.4 in)
long by 2 cm (0.8 in) wide, green with prominent styles. The fruit are
long, wrinkled and fleshy with the small seeds embedded in the pulp.

African teak is distributed across tropical central Africa. Its range
extends from Guinea-Bissau in the west to Mozambique in the east. It is
found in
Angola,
Benin,
Burundi,
Cameroon,
Central African Republic, the
Republic of the Congo, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Equatorial Guinea,
Ethiopia,
Gabon,
Ghana,
Ivory Coast,
Kenya,
Malawi,
Mozambique,
Nigeria,
Rwanda,
São Tomé and Príncipe,
Sierra Leone,
Sudan,
Tanzania,
Togo,
Uganda and
Zimbabwe.
Its natural habitat is in wet savannah, rainforest, riverine and
low-altitude evergreen forests. It can tolerate an annual rainfall of
less than 70 centimetres (28 in) or six months of drought as long as
there is a stream or a ground water source nearby.
African teak has strong dark brown hardwood resistant to termites and
is used for construction, furniture, joinery, panelling, floors and
boats. The tree can be used in the control of erosion. It makes a good
shade tree and is useful as a roadside tree in urban areas. It grows
rapidly, can be
coppiced and is ready for cutting after about fifty years. The tree is nitrogen fixing and the leaves are used for mulching.
The tree is also used in herbal medicine. The powdered bark is used
for coughs, heart problems and lassitude. The latex is used as an
anti-tumour agent and to clear stomach and throat obstructions. The
leaves and the ashes also have medicinal uses.
Wood
- heartwood is brownish red in color. It becomes darker with getting
older. Sometimes there are dark patches on it. There is a strange scent
in newly cut wood.
- sapwood is whitish to pale yellowish brown in color. It can easily separate from heartwood.
- wood texture is hard and ring porous.
- density is 720 kg/meter cube.
Teak is a yellowish brown timber with good grain and texture. Teak,
though easily worked, can cause severe blunting on edged tools because
of the presence of silica in the wood. Teak is often an effective
material for the construction of both indoor and outdoor furniture.
Teak's high oil content, high tensile strength and tight grain makes it
particularly suitable for outdoor furniture applications. Over time teak
can mature to a silvery-grey finish, especially when exposed to
sunlight.
It is used in the manufacture of outdoor
furniture, boat
decks, and other articles where weather resistance is desired. It is also used for
cutting boards, indoor
flooring,
countertops and as a
veneer
for indoor furnishings. Teak is used extensively in India to make doors
and window frames, furniture, and columns and beams in old type houses.
It is very resistant to termite attacks. Mature teak fetches a very
good price. It is grown extensively by forest departments of different
states in forest areas