Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Crepe-myrtle - Lagerstroemia indica   L.
Members of Lythraceae:
Only member of Lagerstroemia in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Myrtales » Family Lythraceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionMostly 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.
AbundanceRare 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.
HabitatFields, woodland borders, disturbed woods, roadsides, powerline, ballast dump.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting June-September. Extensively planted for ornament, its flowers are bright and long-lasting during our hottest months.
IdentificationCrepe-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 RankSE
Global RankGNR
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
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B.A. SorrieSame data. Not escaping. MoorePhoto_non_natural
B.A. SorrieWhispering Pines, roadside planting, not escaping, June 2015. MoorePhoto_non_natural
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