Teak is a large deciduous tree up to 40 m (131 ft) tall with grey to greyish-brown branches, known for its high quality wood.
Its high oil content, high tensile strength and tight grain make it particularly suitable where weather resistance is desired. The wood is used for boat building, exterior construction, veneer, furniture, carving, turnings, and other small wood projects. It is also used for cutting boards, indoor flooring, countertops and as a veneer for indoor finishings. Although easily worked, it can cause severe blunting on edged tools because of the presence of silica in the wood. It is ahard and dense timber that finishes well.
It is resistant to termite attacks and damage caused by other insects. Mature teak fetches a very good price. It is grown extensively by forest departments of different states in forest areas.
Teak is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka, but is naturalised and cultivated in many countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Myanmar's teak forests account for nearly half of the world's naturally occurring teak.
