Lagerstroemia indica

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Lagerstroemia indica
File:Lagerstroemia indica MHNT Jardin des Plantes de Toulouse.jpg
Scientific classification
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L. indica
Binomial name
Lagerstroemia indica

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File:Lagerstroemia indica crape myrtle flowers.JPG
A close view of the crape myrtle flower

Lagerstroemia indica (crape myrtle, crepe myrtle) 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.

File:Crepe myrtle (দেশি ফুরুস).JPG
Crepe myrtle (দেশি ফুরুস), Kolkata, West Bengal, India

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 Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value)..

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

References

  • Flora, The Gardeners Bible, ABC Publishing, Ultimo, NSW, Australia, 2005