The leaves are added to the water in which unripe jackfruit is boiled prior to making the Javanese dish 'Gudeg'[301 ]. This adds a fresh, reddish colour to the jackfruit[301 ]. A red dye obtained from boiling the wood shavings of the tree has been used to colour Easter Eggs[301 ]. The leaves act as a host for Rhizopus spores in Tempeh manufacture[301 ].

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.


A wood tar paste is made from the powdered wood by putting it into hot water. It is vermifuge; promotes digestion; is effective in relieving bilious headaches and tooth aches; reduces inflammations or eruptions of the skin[303 , 404 ]. The charred wood, soaked in poppy juice and made into a paste, has been used to relieve the swelling of the eyelids[303 , 404 ]. The wood has been used as a hair tonic[303 ]. An oil extracted from the roots is used to treat eczema, ringworms and inflammation[404 ]. The bark has been used as an astringent and in the treatment of bronchitis[303 , 404 ]. The flowers are diuretic. They are used to treat biliousness, bronchitis and urinary disorders[299 , 404 ]. The seeds are diuretic[299 , 404 ]. An oil extracted from the seeds promotes hair growth[404 ]. The leaves have a reputation of being diuretic, depurative, purgative, stimulant, antidysenteric and vermifuge. They are used in traditional medicine to treat anaemia, asthenia, fever and malaria, amoebiasis, schistosomiasis and tuberculosis[299 , 404 ]. Extracts of the leaves are reported to be effective against mycobacterium tuberculosis, to treat bleeding of larynx, trachea, bronchi, or lungs, and sore throat[404 ]. An oil extracted from the tender shoots is used against scabies in children[299 , 404 ].

Public open space. Specimen. Botanic collection. Other Uses: Both the root bark and the young leaves produce a yellowish-brown or reddish dye, which is used for paper, clothes and matting[299 , 303 ]. It requires a mordant[299 ]. The dye from the leaves prevents the blackening of yama after thay are cooked[299 ]. The leaves are used for packing food products in the markets[299 ]. An oil extracted from the seeds promotes hair growth[404 ]. Sawdust from teakwood is used as incense in Java; the dust, however, may irritate the skin[303 ]. The sawdust is also used to produce active carbon[299 ]. The heartwood is often dull yellowish when freshly cut but turns golden brown or sometimes dark greyish-brown after exposure, often streaked grey or black; it is distinctly demarcated from the up to 50mm thick band of yellowish-white or pale yellowish-brown sapwood. The grain is straight, wavy or slightly interlocked, with a rather coarse and uneven texture, growth rings are distinct. The wood is oily to the touch and when freshly cut has a smell reminiscent of leather. The wood is a medium weight timber that is rather soft, it is durable to very durable, with an average service life in contact with the ground of more than 10 years under tropical conditions and more than 25 years under temperate conditions. It dries well but rather slowly, rates of shrinkage are low, once dry it is very stable in service. It is not difficult to work, but requires some effort, mainly because of the presence of silica (up to 1.5%); stellite-tipped saws and tools tipped with tungsten carbide are indispensable for sawing and planing operations; it is difficult to chisel with a hollow square mortiser, but turns well; nail and screw-holding capacities are good, but pre-boring is recommended to avoid splitting; gluing is only successful on freshly machined or newly sanded surfaces. The wood bending properties are moderate; there is a tendency to buckle, and the wood is only suitable for bends of moderate curvature; painting, staining and polishing require freshly machined surfaces or a pretreatment with thinner, however it can be varnished and polished beautifully. Being classified as very resistant to teredo activity, the wood is an excellent timber for bridge building and other construction in contact with water such as docks, quays, piers and floodgates in fresh water. In house building, teakwood is particularly suitable for interior and exterior joinery (windows, solid panel doors and framing) and is used for floors exposed to light to moderate pedestrian traffic. It is also used quite extensively for garden furniture. Other uses are for building poles, transmission line poles, fence posts, wallboards, beams, woodwork, boxes, musical instruments, toys, railway sleepers and railcar construction[303 ]. It is brittle and therefore less suitable for articles requiring high resilience, such as tool handles and sporting goods[303 ]. Its high resistance to a wide variety of chemicals makes it ideal for laboratory and kitchen tables as well as for scrubbing towers, vats, pipes and fume ducts in industrial chemical plants[303 ]. The wood grains are figured well, producing an attractive veneer, which is extensively used in the manufacture of furniture and interior fittings. Teakwood is suitable for the manufacture of decorative plywood[303 ]. Larger logs are utilized for beams and sleepers, smaller ones for scantlings and battens, and thinner top ends and poles are used as round posts. Thinnings are also used for timber. For the export market, teakwood is recommended for ship decking and other constructional work in boat building[303 ]. Teakwood has been used in the manufacture of charcoal and as fuel wood, but nowadays it is usually considered too valuable for anything but pruning remnants and other rejects to be used in this way[303 ].

Special Uses