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Lagerstroemia indica
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| Photo Information |
Copyright: Raimundo Mesquita (mesquens)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 168 W: 9 N: 287]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif) (2073) |
| Genre: Plants |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2016-01-07 |
| Categories: Flowers |
| Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T2i |
| Exposure: f/22, 4 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2016-01-07 12:33 |
| Viewed: 1645 |
| Points: 3 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
| Lagerstroemia indica, commonly known as crape myrtle, is an upright, wide-spreading, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub or small tree in the loosestrife family. It typically grows to 15-25’ tall. It is native from the Himalayas through southern China, southeast Asia and Japan, but has naturalized in the U. S. from Virginia to Arkansas south to Texas and Florida. An additional common name is Lilac of the South in reference to its popularity in southern gardens (USDA Zones 7-9). Key ornamental features include long bloom period, exfoliating bark and superb fall color. Terminal, crepe-papery inflorescences (to 6-18” long) of showy flowers with crimped petals bloom in summer (sometimes to frost) on upright branches. In the wild, flowers are typically rose to red. Cultivated varieties have expanded the flower color range to include white, pink, mauve, lavender and purple. Alternate to sub-opposite, thick and leathery, privet-like, elliptic to oblong leaves (to 3" long) emerge light green often with a tinge of red, mature to dark green by summer and finally turn attractive shades of yellow-orange-red in fall. Flowers give way to round seed capsules which often persist well into winter. Smooth pale pinkish-gray bark on mature branches exfoliates with age. In the St. Louis area where winter injury can be a problem, plants will typically grow to 6-10’ tall. In the deep South, plants will grow much taller if not pruned back. Straight species plants are not sold in commerce. A multitude of named cultivars from dwarf to tree size have been introduced over the years, many of which are hybrids between L. indica and L. faueri. |
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