Tectona
Genus of trees
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tectona is a genus of tropical hardwood trees in the mint family, Lamiaceae.[1][2][3] The three species are often collectively called teak.
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| Tectona | |
|---|---|
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| Tectona grandis in new leaves in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Tectona L.f. |
| Species | |
| |
Description
Tectona is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand, and are commonly found as a component of monsoon forest vegetation. They are large trees, growing to 30–40 m (90–120 ft.) tall, deciduous in the dry season. Tectona grandis is an economically important species which is the source of most commercial teak wood products.[4]
Systematics
Teak belongs to the family Lamiaceae (in older classifications in Verbenaceae). Sometimes it is included in the subfamily Prostantheroideae.[5] There are three species of Tectona:
- Tectona grandis (common teak) is by far the most important, with a wide distribution in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, China, India, and Pakistan.
- Tectona hamiltoniana (Dahat teak) is a local endemic species confined to Burma, where it is endangered.
- Tectona philippinensis (Philippine teak) is endemic to the Philippines, and is critically endangered according to the IUCN (http://iucnredlist.org/details/32123/0).
The genus Tectona is a conserved name against the earlier homotypic synonym Theka Adans.[2] The genus was originally described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782.[6]
Notable examples
The biggest and oldest teak is in Uttaradit, Thailand. It is more than 1,500 years old. Its height is 47 metres. [clarification needed] [7]
