Lagerstroemia indica

Lagerstroemia indica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Lythraceae
Genus: Lagerstroemia
Species: L. indica
Binomial name
Lagerstroemia indica
(L.) Pers.
A close view of the crape myrtle flower
Lagerstroemia indica — Muséum de Toulouse

Lagerstroemia indica (crape myrtle, crepe myrtle, crepeflower[1]) is a species in the genus Lagerstroemia in the family Lythraceae.

From China, Korea, Japan and Indian Subcontinent Lagerstroemia indica is an often multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with a wide spreading, flat topped, rounded, or even spike shaped open habit. Planted in full sun or under canopy, the tree is a popular nesting shrub for songbirds and wrens.

Crepe myrtle (দেশি ফুরুস), Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Autumn foliage

The bark is a prominent feature being smooth, pinkish-gray and mottled, shedding each year. Leaves also shed each winter, after spectacular color display, and bare branches re-leaf early in the spring; leaves are small, smooth-edged, circular or oval-shaped, and dark green changing to yellow and orange and red in autumn.

Flowers, on different trees, are white, pink, mauve, purple or carmine with crimped petals, in panicles up to 9 centimetres (3 1⁄2 in).

Lagerstroemia indica is frost tolerant, prefers full sun and will grow to 6 metres (20 ft) with a spread of 6 metres (20 ft).

Many hybrid cultivars have been developed between L. indica and L. faueri

The "Dynamite" cultivar the crepe myrtle

References

  1. ↑ USDA GRIN Taxonomy, retrieved 8 June 2016
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