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''Lagerstroemia indica'', the
crape myrtle ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Aust ...
(also crepe myrtle, crêpe myrtle, or crepeflower) is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''
Lagerstroemia ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Aust ...
'' of the family
Lythraceae Lythraceae is a family of flowering plants, including 32 genera, with about 620 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees. The larger genera include ''Cuphea'' (275 spp.), ''Lagerstroemia'' (56), ''Nesaea'' (50), ''Rotala'' (45), and ''Lythrum'' (35). ...
. It is
native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...
to the
Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
(hence the species epithet ''indica''), and also to
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, China, Korea and Japan. The genus name honors Swedish botanist Magnus von Lagerström. It is an often multi-stemmed,
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
tree with a wide spreading, flat topped, rounded, or even spike shaped open habit. The tree is a popular nesting shrub for songbirds and wrens. In the United Kingdom, ''Lagerstroemia indica'' has gained the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
’s
Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...
.


Description

The bark is thin and about 2mm. thick, 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 A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle ar ...
up to . Flowers give way to 6-capsuled, brown dehiscent fruits. CrapeMyrtleSummer.jpg, Crape Myrtle during summer in
Sombrerete Sombrerete () is a town and municipality located in the northwest of the Mexican state of Zacatecas, bordering the state of Durango. It was founded in 1555 by Spanish conquistador Juan de Tolosa as a mining center, due to the wealth that the mine ...
, Mexico CrapeMyrtleFall.jpg, Same tree during fall 2015-11-08 09 37 47 Crape Myrtle foliage during autumn along Old Ox Road (Virginia Secondary State Route 606) in Sterling, Virginia.jpg, Autumn foliage


Cultivation

In the United States, ''Lagerstroemia indica'' is a very popular flowering shrub/small tree in mild-winter states ( USDA Zones 6–9). Low maintenance needs make it a common municipal planting in parks, along sidewalks, highway medians and in parking lots. Like the southern magnolia, the crape myrtle has come to symbolize the
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
because of its extensive planting and ability to thrive in hot, humid summer climates with regular precipitation. It is one of only a few trees/shrubs to offer brilliant color in late summer through autumn, at a time when many flowering plants have exhausted their blooms. In arid climates, it requires supplemental watering and some shade in the very hottest areas. The plant must have hot summers in order to flower successfully, otherwise it will show weak bloom and is more vulnerable to fungal diseases. Frequently ''L. indica'' is root hardy to Zone 5 (-10 °F/-23 °C), meaning it will be killed back during harsh winters but regrow from the roots and flower in summer. As such Northern gardeners treat it more like a perennial than a tree or shrub. Too much watering and over-fertilizing can decrease the cold hardiness because it stimulates new growth late in the season that does not have time to harden off. ''Lagerstroemia indica'' is frost tolerant, prefers full sun and will grow to with a spread of . The plant is not picky about soil type but does require good drainage to thrive. Once established it is also quite drought hardy, though it benefits from the occasional deep watering during the summer months. 15 hybrid
cultivars A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
have been developed between ''L. indica'' and ''L. fauriei'' by the US National Arboretum for increased cold-hardiness and resistance to disease, all given the names of Native American tribes. There are also dwarf cultivars of ''indica'' × ''fauriei'' cross-breeds and regular ''L. indica'' species, which grow .


Range

''Lagerstroemia'' is a common planting in
South Atlantic States The South Atlantic United States form one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions within the United States that are recognized by the United States Census Bureau. This region, U.S. Census Bureau Region 3, Division 5, corresponds to the South (states ...
and is becoming an increasingly common shrub in Mid-Atlantic states all the way up through the coastal areas of Massachusetts. ''Lagerstroemia'' also thrives in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
and
Desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
climates of Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, and also in Australia as a street plant.


Diseases

In the Southern U.S. mildew and fungal diseases have traditionally posed problems for ''L. indica''. This was a major motivation for developing the ''L. indica ''×'' L. fauriei'' hybrids, which show increased resistance to
powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, a ...
and fungus. The fungal pathogen ''
Cercospora lythracearum ''Cercospora'' is a genus of ascomycete fungi. Most species have no known sexual stage, and when the sexual stage is identified, it is in the genus ''Mycosphaerella''. Most species of this genus cause plant diseases, and form leaf spots. It is a ...
'' can infest the plant in summer during hot, rainy weather and cause premature leaf drop. Gardeners plant resistant hybrid varieties or use fungicide sprays to help control this. Insect problems with ''Lagestroemia indica'' include the crape myrtle aphid, ''
Tinocallis kahawaluokalani The Crapemyrtle Aphid, (''Tinocallis kahawaluokalani''), also known as ''Sarucallis (Tinocallis) kahawaluokalani'', is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants. It is most invasiv ...
'', which can cause yellow spots and black mold,
Japanese beetles The Japanese beetle (''Popillia japonica'') is a species of scarab beetle. The adult measures in length and in width, has iridescent copper-colored elytra and a green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan (where it is controlle ...
, and the
flea beetle The flea beetle is a small, jumping beetle of the leaf beetle family (Chrysomelidae), that makes up the tribe Alticini which is part of the subfamily Galerucinae. Historically the flea beetles were classified as their own subfamily. Though mo ...
. None of these insects are fatal to the plant and other predator insects are usually enough to resolve infestations; however applications of insecticidal soap can also be helpful.


Crape myrtle topping

During the winter, gardeners will often lop off the branches of large specimens, to manage size and encourage more profuse summer bloom. This is colloquially known as "crape murder" because of the drastic pruning involved, leaving a bare trunk during the winter and early spring. Tree topping of crape myrtles is a common occurrence, but is not recommended nor endorsed by many professional standards or arboricultural organizations.


In culture

In 1983,
Hinako Sugiura was a Japanese manga artist and researcher in the lifestyles and customs of Japan's Edo period. Born Junko Suzuki in Minato, Tokyo, into a tradition-steeped family of kimono merchants, she studied design and took an increasing interest in old Ja ...
started a manga series titled ''
Sarusuberi is a Japanese historical manga series written and illustrated by Hinako Sugiura, telling the story of Katsushika Ōi who worked in the shadow of her father Hokusai. It was adapted into an anime film directed by Keiichi Hara, that was releas ...
'', after the Japanese name of the plant. Sugiura compared the flowering season of ''L. indica'', that keeps blooming and dropping flowers at the same time, with the vigor of
ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk ta ...
art, the setting of the manga.
Hinako Sugiura was a Japanese manga artist and researcher in the lifestyles and customs of Japan's Edo period. Born Junko Suzuki in Minato, Tokyo, into a tradition-steeped family of kimono merchants, she studied design and took an increasing interest in old Ja ...
in the first volume of the 1985 Jitsugyo no Nihonsha edition. Quoted in 1996 by Baku Yumemakura in


References


External links

* Flora, The Gardeners Bible, ABC Publishing, Ultimo, NSW, Australia, 2005 {{Authority control indica Flora of China Flora of Japan Flora of Korea Plants described in 1759 Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Flora of Nepal Symbols of Texas