Tectona is a genus of tropical hardwood trees in the mint family, Lamiaceae.[1][2][3] The three species are often collectively called teak.
Tectona is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand, and are commonly found as a component of monsoon forest vegetation. They are large trees, growing to 30–40 m (90–120 ft.) tall, deciduous in the dry season. Tectona grandis is an economically important species which is the source of most commercial teak wood products.[4]
Teak belongs to the family Lamiaceae (in older classifications in Verbenaceae). Sometimes it is included in the subfamily Prostantheroideae.[5]There are three species of Tectona:
The genus Tectona is a conserved name against the earlier homotypic synonym Theka Adans.[2] The genus was originally described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782.[6]
The biggest and oldest teak is in Uttaradit, Thailand. It is more than 1,500 years old. Its height is 47 metres.[clarification needed] [7]