Lagerstroemia speciosa

Read about Lagerstroemia speciosa in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Lagerstroemia speciosa (Munchausia speciosa, Flos-Reginae, Reginae). Tree, 50-60 ft., with elliptic or long-lanceolate obtuse lvs. 4-8 in. long: panicle large; fls. 2-3 in. across, varying from rose to purple from morning to evening, the calyx grooved, the petals erose-wavy: caps, 1 in. or more long. India. G.C. III. 15:77.—A noble plant in Trop. India; also intro. in S. Calif. In the Old World sometimes grown under glass and on walls out-of-doors. 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 It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article.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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Lagerstroemia speciosa

Flowers on a tree in Calcutta, where it is locally called Jarul.

Plant Info

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Lythraceae
Genus:	Lagerstroemia
Species:	L. speciosa

Binomial name

Lagerstroemia speciosa
(L.) Pers.

Bark at Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Lagerstroemia speciosa (Giant Crape-myrtle, Queen's Crape-myrtle or Banabá Plant) is a species of Lagerstroemia native to tropical southern Asia. It is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 20 m tall, with smooth, flaky bark. The leaves are deciduous, oval to elliptic, 8-15 cm long and 3-7 cm broad, with an acute apex. The flowers are produced in erect panicles 20-40 cm long, each flower with six white to purple petals 2-3.5 cm long.