Lagerstroemia

Read about Lagerstroemia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Lagerstroemia (Magnus v. Lagerstroem, 1696- 1759, a Swede and friend of Linnaeus). Lythraceae. Showy-flowered shrubs and trees, one of which (the crape myrtle) is much planted in the southern states.Leaves opposite or the uppermost alternate, mostly ovate, entire: fls. in axillary and terminal panicles, with bracted peduncles and pedicels, pink, purple or white; calyx with a funnel-shaped tube and 6-9 lobes; petals mostly 6, crinkled or fringed, with a long, slender claw (Fig. 2061); stamens many to very many, long, some of them upward-curved; ovary 3-6-celled, with a long bent style and capitate stigma: fr. a caps.; seeds winged at the top.—Species, according to Koehne (Engler's Pflanzenreich, hft. 17, 1903), 30 in S. and E. Asia, Austral., Philippines, New Guinea. The crape myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, is to the S. what the lilac and snowball are to the N.—an inhabitant of nearly every home yard. It is a strong-growing shrub, reaching a height of 10-35 ft., deciduous-lvd., producing an abundance of soft fringed and showy fls. in summer. The normal form has pink fls., but varieties with blush, white and purple fls. are not uncommon. It is hardy as far north as Baltimore, but north of that latitude it needs protection; even with protection it cannot be grown north of the Long Island region. I. speciosa is very little grown. Neither species seems to thirve in S. Calif. The many other promising species of Lagerstroemia appear not to have been intro. commercially in this country. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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Crape myrtle

Lagerstroemia indica

Plant Info

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Lythraceae
Genus:	Lagerstroemia Linnaeus

Species

See text

Lagerstroemia (crepe myrtle or crape myrtle) is a genus of about 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees or large shrubs native to eastern Asia and Australia in the Lythraceae family.

Grown mainly for their flowers, Lagerstroemia have sinewy, fluted stems and branches with bark that sheds each year, giving it a mottled appearance. The leaves are opposite, simple, with entire margins, and vary from 5-20 cm (2-8 in). The leaves provide autumn colour.

Flowers are borne in summer in panicles of crinkled flowers with a crepe-like texture. Colours vary in shades of pink, mauve and white. The fruit is a capsule, green at first, then ripening to black. It opens along six or seven lines, producing teeth much like those of the calyx, and releases numerous small winged seeds.

The timber of some species has been used to manufacture bridges, furniture and railway sleepers.

Lagerstroemia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita malabaricus.

Selected species

Adaptable range for the Crape Myrtle in the United States

A 12ft (4m) Crape Myrtle in northern Maryland.

The Common Crape-myrtle Lagerstroemia indica, from China and Korea, was introduced to the United States by French botanist Andre Michaux ca. 1790 to Charleston, South Carolina, where it is today a very common ornamental shrub raised and cultivated in South Central United States, and is growing in popularity.

The Giant Crape-myrtle Lagerstroemia speciosa, from tropical India, is a tree which is established only in the warmest areas of the US, such as Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, and surrounding states.

Both species are becoming more prevalent in the home owners landscape designs as well as commercial industries for businesses and municipalities along roadways, highways and byways. They both have become so common it is sometimes almost impossible to tell them apart without laboratory testing.

The genus is named after the Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerström, who supplied Carolus Linnaeus with plants he collected.