| Scientific Name | Lagerstromia microcarpa Wt. |
| Trade Name | Benteak |
| Local Name | Venthekku, Vellilavu |
| Family | Lythraceae |
| Tree Size | Large |
| Tree Height ( m ) | 20 - 30 |
| Tree Diameter ( cm ) | 110 |
| Tree Distribution | West coast semi-evergreen, moist teak bearing and Southern moist mixed deciduous forest |
| Sapwood-Heartwood Distinction | Distinct |
| Sapwood Colour | Grey or pinkish |
| Heartwood Colour | Reddish brown |
| Hardness | Moderately hard |
| Specific Gravity Based on Weight Over-dry and Volume Green | 0.5 |
| Weight | Moderately heavy |
| Weight(Kg)/cubic meter at 12% Moisture Content | 617 |
| Texture | Coarse textured |
| Grain | Straight to somewhat interlocked grain |
| Growth Rings | Distinct |
| Porosity | Porous to semi- ring porous |
| Vessel Size | Large in earlywood, medium to small in latewood |
| Vessel Arrangement | Solitary or in radial multiples of three to four,rarely in clusters of four to six |
| Vessel Diameter | 230 - 380 310 |
| Vessel Element Lenght | 240 - 1010 1010 |
| Perforation | Simple |
| Pit Outline | Polygonal |
| Pit Size | Large(9-18 µm),vestured |
| Vessel Ray Pitting | Larger, ovel or elliptical with much reduced border |
| Ray Nature | Fine,numerous and closely spaced |
| Ray Arrangement/Type | Uniseriate,homogeneous,wholly made up of procumbent cells |
| Ray Number | 3 - 6 |
| Ray Height | 470 - 1640 850 |
| Fibre Walls | Thin to thick walled,septate with simple pits on radial walls.Chambered crystals present in fibers |
| Fiber Length | |
| Modulus of Rupture in kg/cm2 (Green) | 682 |
| Modulus of Elasticity in kg/cm2 (Green) | 110500 |
| Modulus of Rupture kg/cm2 (Dry) | 986 |
| Modulus of Elasticity in kg/cm2 (Dry) | 126500 |
| Uses | Doors and window frames, tea chests, railway sleepers, textile mills, bentwood articles, hurdles for sports, fence posts, brushware, furniture and cabinets, blackboards and tool handle, lorry and bus bodies, carving and turnery, agricultural implements, fuel wood, match splints & boxes, cooperage, boats & shipbuilding, bridges, constructional purposes, spokes, felloes and shafts |
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