Crape myrtle

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Crape myrtle (genus Lagerstroemia) is a non-native flowering evergreen which is recognized as the official tree of Birmingham.

The genus includes about fifty individual species native to Southeast Asia, India and the Pacific, many of which are cultivated as ornamental trees in the United States. The most popular commercial species are Lagerstroemia indica (common crape myrtle), which was introduced to South Carolina in the late 18th century by French botanist André Michaux, and Lagerstroemia fauriei (Japanese crape myrtle), which is hardier but less colorful. It is often used to create hybrids with L. indica.

The scientific name, Lagerstroemia, honors Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerström, who collected plants for botanist Carolus Linnaeus. The common name derives from the crinkled petals which resemble crêpes or crepe paper "Crape" and "crepe" are both Anglicizations of the French "crêpe". The American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature uses the compound "Crapemyrtle" to distinguish the tree from true myrtles of the genus Myrtus.

The trees are favored for their clustered sprays of bold 1-2 inch flowers in white, light or deep pink or purple, which last for much of the summer. They are also appreciated for their adaptability to a range of landscaping requirements.

A wide range of sizes are cultivated, from 3-5 foot dwarfs to large varieties reaching up to 40 feet. Some specimens, though, are capable of reaching over 100 feet tall. Most species grow with multiple trunks wrapped in smooth paper-like bark which sheds irregularly, giving the trunk a light-colored mottled appearance. The simple leaves also vary in size, from 2 to 8 inches in length, with some varieties sporting burgundy colors on new leaves, and others changing color in the autumn months. The capsule-like fruit ripens from green to dark brown, then splits along outer seams to release small, winged seeds.

In the early 1960s, Birmingham Crape Myrtle Association planted thousands of the trees, donated by Oliver Frazer, across the Birmingham area, with the group focusing on college campuses, schoolyards, church lawns and Messer Airport Highway. According to the Association's president, Raymond Hurlbert, the fact that the crape myrtle blooms in July, August and September, its prevalent use could render Jefferson County "the most beautiful area of the nation at that time when most other plants are past their blooming stage." At his request, and by the motion of Don Hawkins, the Birmingham City Council unanimously designated the crape myrtle as Birmingham's "official tree", and also proclaimed the city to be the "Crape Myrtle Center of the Nation" in March 1964.

A crape myrtle garden was planted at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in 1971. Crape myrtles continued to be planted as street trees in many Birmingham neighborhoods, often alternating with Bradford pear trees. By common practice, ornamental crape myrtles are often pruned back severely in the winter, sometimes to the trunk. This practice, for which there is no botanical justification, has been criticized as "crape murder".

Though they are non-native exotic plants, crape myrtles do not readily self-propagate and are not listed by the Alabama Invasive Plant Council.

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