It is a member of the
Lythraceae, which is also known as the Loosestrife family. The
genus is named after the Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerström,
who supplied Carolus Linnaeus with plants he collected.
While various species and cultivars are able to fill a wide variety
of landscape needs, crape myrtles are chiefly famous for their
colorful and long-lasting flowers. Most species of Lagerstroemia
have sinewy, fluted stems and branches with a mottled appearance
that arises from having bark that sheds throughout the year. The
leaves are opposite, simple, with entire margins, and vary from
5-20 cm (2-8 in). While all species are woody in nature, they can
range in height from over 100 feet to under one foot; most, however
are small to medium multiple-trunked trees and shrubs. The leaves
of temperate species provide autumn color.
Flowers are born in summer and autumn in panicles of crinkled
flowers with a crepe-like texture. Colors vary from deep purple to
red to white, with almost every shade in between. Although no
blue-flowered varieties exist, it is toward the blue end of the
spectrum that the flowers trend, with no sight of orange or yellow
except in stamens and pistils. The fruit is a capsule, green and
succulent at first, then ripening to dark brown or black dryness.
It splits along six or seven lines, producing teeth much like those
of the calyx, and releases numerous small winged seeds.
In their respective climates, both sub-tropical and tropical
species are common in domestic and commercial landscapes. 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.
The leaves of Lagerstoemia parviflora are fed on by the Antheraea
paphia moth which produces the tassar silk (Tussah), a form of wild
silk of commercial importance in India.
