The Not-So-Common Trees - The Teak
'Doors and windows made of pure
'teakwood' is the common refrain of the builders to customers. But if I tell you that
'thekkumaram' is of medicinal significance, you are likely to dismiss me as fanciful.
Don't jump to conclusions. I am giving below a summary of the medicinal properties of the
teak, as recorded in the fifth volume of 'Indian Medicinal Plants', published by Orient
Longman.
Roots: Useful in anuria - cessation of secretion and execution of urine.
Bark: Astringent - Causing constriction usually locally after topical application:
anthelminthic - destroying or expelling worms: and depurative - an agent that purifies blood. Useful in combating bronchitis, hyperacidity,
dysentery, diabetes, leprosy and skin diseases.
Leaves: Haemostatic - preventing
bleeding, depurative, vulnerary - healing wounds.
Fruits: Diuretic,
strangury - difficulty in urination. Oil obtained from seeds provides hair growth and helps cure eczema and ringworm.
This account of the medicinal value of the teak tree has been a just of an eye-opener to me, for I've always been condition to evaluate
teak only in terms of its timber value.
Botanically called Tectona
grandis, the teak is a native of the deciduous forests of India and Burma and naturally, its cultivation is encouraged in the afforestation programmes of the
Government of India and in the recent past, we see teak grown in large numbers
wherever climatic conditions are favourable for it. But few think of it as a medicinal plant: it is mainly grown for its highly-valued timber.
The teak is a very tall tree, reaching
up to 150 ft, in conditions conductive to its growth, taking up to 60-80 years to attain full maturity. This long lifespan is an argument advanced against its cultivation. But the wait is worth it, for the return
per tree is quite high since once established, it needs little attention.
The bark is longitudinally
furrowed, ash-coloured and scaly. The leaves are large, sometimes as much as two feet long in young trees. Often, the leaf develops large perforations,
in fact holes, caused by an insert pest and, therefore, presents an ungainly sight. But from June until September, when the tree puts forth new foliage topped by huge pyramids of flowering branches, it presents a splendid sight.
The
leaves grow in oppositely-placed pairs, each pair arranged crosswise to the next, an arrangement that is described as deculsate in the
botanist's jargon. Each leaf has a soft felt on the underside while on the upper side, it has the texture of a
fine sandpaper.
The flowers are small and
white, giving off a whiff of a scent. The fruit is enclosed in a balloon-like calyx (sepals), reaching
up to one-inch across. They appear towards the end of September.
The wood is heavy, strong and durable, resists white
ants and contains an oil which preserves nails, a property that enhances its value when used for making furniture. A quality of teak wood that makes it the favourite of house-builders and furniture-makers is that it can withstand high humidity without suffering any warping effect. The wood anatomy is such that when shaved and polished, beautifully shaped
grain - an arrangement of water-conducting and mechanical components of xylem - appears. This quality adds to the value of timber.
Teak gets its
Latin name from a Portuguese word, teca, which is itself derived from the Greek word,
'tekton' which means a carpenter. The specific name, grandis, refers to large size.
Teak trees are seen in many parts of Chennai. I see quite a few in Anna Nagar, in some of the home compounds. I also see a row of them, along the compound wall of Loyola College, a testimony to the far-sighted administration of the
Jesuit fathers. But the sight that stays in my mind is that of the few teak trees growing
on the compound of A G's Office on Anna Salai for those trees are there for over
a half century, now.
