Teak
Other names:Tectona grandis, Sagon, Sagwan
Identification: Sagwan is a tall, deciduous tree. It has an erect trunk, a cylindrical bole and an umbrella like beautiful crown. It tends to be fluted at the base. Its bark is thin, fibrous and light brown or gray in color peeling off in long thin strips. Leaves are simple, opposite, large i.e. 30 to 50 cm x 25 cm, round, broad, pointed and thick in structure. New leaves appear in May-June. Teak flowers, which appear in July-August, are branched, 50 to 100 cm long whitish cymes. Individual florets are small and round with diameter of about 4 mm. The fruit appear in August-September and ripen between November and January.
Description: It is the popular plantation tree. It grows well in warm climate and well-drained soil. It grows naturally in central and southern India and is propagated artificially in the Indo-Gangetic plains, and the foothills from Bengal to Haryana and Punjab on comparatively lesser scale.
Uses: Apart from quality timber it provides, Sagwan has number of medicinal uses. According to Ayurveda, wood is acrid, cooling, laxative, sedative to gravid uterus and useful in treatment of piles, leucoderma and dysentery. Flowers are acrid, bitter and dry and useful in bronchitis, biliousness, urinary discharges etc. Roots are useful in treatment of urinary system related troubles. According to Unani system of medicine, the oil from flower is hair promoter and useful in scabies. Wood is good for headache, biliousness, burning sensation and pain and liver related troubles. It allays thirst and possess anthelmintic and expectorant properties. If you rub the leaves against your hand, it turns dark red. The leaves yield a kind of dye which is used locally in coloring clothes, edibles, etc.
Where to find in XLRI: Between the main road and Tata Auditorium, just near Admin entrance
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Useful Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teak
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/sagon.html
Medical use
Against snake bite
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