| India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua, New Guinea, Japan, Taiwan, East Africa, West Africa, South Africa, South America and Central America. |
| Wood moderately hard, strongly and characteristically scented and containing an oil which is easily perceptible to the touch and is preservative. Sapwood white, usually small; heartwood dark golden yellow, turning brown, dark brown and finally almost black with age. Teak is not felled green, but it is girdle standing, so as to kill it and it is felled and the timber extracted later on. Timber well girdled dries completely and seasons evenly, for it is on all sides freely exposed to sun and wind. Smaller trees dry sufficiently if left standing after girdling for one or two years; larger trees must stand longer. When a teak tree is felled green, that side of the trunk which is in contact with the ground takes a longer time to dry, the timber seasons unevenly. When quite fresh, teak hardly floats, but when seasoned it floats easily and the oil in the wood prevents its getting waterlogged. |
| Various parts of the tree have medicinal uses. Wood is used for consruction work, furniture and cabinet work and the bark is the source of an yellow dye. Wood on distillation yields tar oil which is used in varnish and as a substitute for linseed oil. House building (posts, beams, rafters, paneling, door and window frames, planking, battens, railway etc.) bridge-construction, ship-building, masts, spars, oars, helms, boats, shingles, piles, furniture, cabinet work, carpentry, carving, turnery, well construction, ploughs, yokes, harrows, railway keys, carts, carriages, shafts, axles, spokes, felloes of wheels, solid wheels, looms, frames of spinning wheels, cotton cleaning apparatus, combs, jars, bowls, brush-backs, toys, tobacco-pipes, railway sleepers, railway carriages, wagons, tubs, buckets, barrels, cooperage, double decked platforms, skids, hold fasts, rammer, sponge staves, axle beds of transport carts, planking for wagons, boxes, gun ammunition, small boxes.
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