Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers.
Vernacular name: Pride of India, Queen’s Crape Myrtle (Hindi: जरुल, ताम्हण)
Species Name: Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers.
Family: Lythraceae
Habit: Deciduous tree.
Stem: Straight trunk 10–25 m tall; bark smooth, grey to light brown, exfoliating in thin flakes.
Leaf: Opposite to subopposite, elliptic-oblong, subacute, entire, coriaceous, glabrous, short-petiolate.
Flowering: Summer (April–July).
Flowers: Large, showy, pink to purple, borne in terminal pyramidal panicles; petals 6, crinkled, clawed; stamens numerous, unequal; ovary superior, 3–6-celled.
Fruit: Capsule, loculicidal dehiscence, many seeds, winged at apex
Uses:
- Leaves are used in the Philippines as a folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes and kidney diseases.
- The fruit is used to cure mouth ulcers. The roots are also considered astringent and the seeds narcotic.
- It is cultivated in the gardens and planted on the roadside.
- The plant is one of the most important timber trees of India.
- A postal stamp was issued by the Indian Postal Department to commemorate this flower.
