Author | L. | |
Distribution | Mostly lower Piedmont and Inner Coastal Plain; also New Hanover, Alexander, and Catawba counties. Likely to occur elsewhere.
Native of Asia; in N.A. MD to IN, AR, and OK, south to FL and TX. | |
Abundance | Rare as an escape from cultivation. Widely planted throughout the Coastal Plain and most of the Piedmont. This non-native seems to be benign as an escape, rarely occurring in natural habitats. | |
Habitat | Fields, woodland borders, disturbed woods, roadsides, powerline, ballast dump. | |
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting June-September. Extensively planted for ornament, its flowers are bright and long-lasting during our hottest months. | |
Identification | Crepe-myrtle is a well-behaved ornamental, never aggressively invasive; in fact, it seldom escapes at all. It grows as a small tree or tall shrub, with strongly ascending branches. Leaves are alternate, elliptical, and have a drip-tip or not. Flowers are produced terminally in abundance, either rosy or white. Each of the 6 broad petals is frilly margined or "crisped" (in French "crepe" with an accent circonflexe). | |
Taxonomic Comments | | |
Other Common Name(s) | | |
State Rank | SE | |
Global Rank | GNR | |
State Status | | |
US Status | | |
USACE-agcp | | |
USACE-emp | | |