Tectona grandis has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicles) at the end of the branches.

Teak wood has a leather-like smell when it is freshly milled and is particularly valued for its durability and water resistance.

The wood is used for boat building, exterior construction, veneer, furniture, carving, turnings, and various small projects.

[citation needed] Tectona grandis 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.

[3] Molecular studies show that there are two centres of the genetic origin of teak: one in India and the other in Myanmar and Laos.

[4][5] 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.

[8] A 1996 study found that in its native range in Thailand, the major pollinators were species in the bee genus Ceratina.

[13] The English word teak comes via the Portuguese teca from Malayalam tekka (cognate with Tamil tekku, Telugu teku, and Kannada tegu).

[18] Tectona grandis is native to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Myanmar, northern Thailand, and northwestern Laos.

Typically, though, the annual rainfall in areas where teak grows averages 1,250–1,650 mm with a 3–5 month dry season.

The Forest Stewardship Council offers certification of sustainably grown and harvested teak products.

[citation needed] Teak plantations were widely established in Equatorial Africa during the Colonial era.

With a depletion of remaining natural hectares of teak forests, growth in plantations in Latin America is expected to rise.

[25] Teak is used extensively in India to make doors and window frames, furniture, and columns, and beams in homes.

[27] This type of usage is found in the coastal district of Udupi in the Tulunadu region in South India.

Teak has been used as a boatbuilding material for over 2000 years (it was found in an archaeological dig in Berenice Panchrysos, a port on the Indian Roman trade route).

The wood has a relatively low shrinkage ratio,[30] which makes it excellent for applications where it undergoes periodic changes in moisture.

Teak has the unusual property of being both an excellent structural timber for framing or planking, while at the same time being easily worked and finished, unlike some otherwise similar woods such as purpleheart.

This is repeated for 10–14 days and then the seeds are sown in shallow germination beds of coarse peat covered by sand.

While bud grafting onto seedling root stock has been the method used for establishing clonal seed orchards that enables assemblage of clones of the superior trees to encourage crossing, rooted stem cuttings and micro propagated plants are being increasingly used around the world for raising clonal plantations.

[38] Illegal logging is prevalent in countries with natural teak forests, including India and Burma.

[40] Since the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, illegal logging of teak and tamalan trees has surged in Sagaing Region, predominantly in key contested battlegrounds, including Kani, Yinmabin, Kantbalu, Indaw, and Banmauk townships.

This regulation specifically applies to teak and other high-risk timber species, particularly those sourced from countries with poor forest governance or illegal logging activities.

[46] Previously, the world's biggest recorded teak tree was located within the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary in the Palakkad District of Kerala in India, named Kannimara.