Tectona grandis

Botanical Name – Tectona grandis

Common Name – Shaak (Sanskrit), Sagun, Sagwan (Hindi), Sag (Marathi), Tekku, Taekumaram (Malayalam), Thega (Kannada), Saag (Gujrati)

Habit

• Large deciduous tree
• Fast growing
  
  

Habitat

• Dry deciduous forest
  
  

Distribution- Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Gujrat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Karnataka, Kerala

Specific Properties

• Pioneer species
  
  

Ecology

• Preferred by insectivorous birds as feeding substrate as teak supports high insect diversity of ants, termites, caterpillars, flies, bees, wasps, moths etc
• Nectar plant for -Indian Jezebel, Blue Tiger, Angled Pierrot, Common Pierrot, Tamil Yeoman butterflies
• Food host plant for 8 moth species
  
  

Uses

• Oil from the seeds promotes hair growth
• Yields red dye used for clothes and paper
• Wood is useful in treatment of leukoderma, dysentery, headache, digestive problems, liver related troubles, piles, etc
• Flowers are used to treat bronchitis, digestive problems, leprosy, skin diseases, diabetes etc
  
  

Propagation

• Seeds