Lagerstroemia speciosa

Etymology and names

The Latin specific epithet speciosa means 'beautiful'. The names in English and other languages include:

• Assamese: এজাৰ (Ezar)
• Bengali: জারুল (Jarul)
• Burmese: ပျဉ်းမ (Pyinma)
• English: Pride of India, queen crepe myrtle.
• Hindi: जरुल (Jarul)
• Indonesian: Bungur
• Kannada: Hole dasavala
• Kapampangan: Mitla
• Khmer: ត្របែកព្រៃ (Trobaek Prey)
• Malay: Bungor raya (بوڠور راي)
• Malayalam: മണിമരുത്,പൂമരുത്
• Marathi: ताम्हण (Tamhan), जारुळ (Jarul), मोठा बोंडारा(Motha Bondara)
• Tagalog: Banaba
• Tamil: கதலி (மலர் or Kadali)
• Telugu: Manimaruthu
• Thai: อินทนิล (Inthanin)
• Vietnamese: Bằng lăng nước

Growth

It is a small to medium-sized to large tree growing to 15 metres (49 ft) tall, with an attractive symmetrical crown having a short bole or trunk with smooth, flaky light grey or cream-coloured bark. The leaves are simple, deciduous, oval to elliptic with stout petiole, 8–15 cm (3.1–5.9 in) long and 3–7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) broad, with an acute apex. The flowers are produced in erect panicles 20–40 cm (7.9–15.7 in) long, each flower with six white to purple petals 2–3.5 cm (0.79–1.38 in) long. It has simple leaves with, glabrous, large, elliptic or oblong lanceolate.

The fruits are ellipsoid or sub-globose woody capsules. They are green at first, but later turn brown and finally black. The fruits hang on to the trees. It is easily raised through seeds. It grows best on rich deep alluvial loams and prefers warm, humid and moist soils and can withstand water logging.

Flowering occurs 3–5 years after planting and the main flowering season is April–June with a second flush in July–August. The fruits ripen in November–January. p. 198

Cultivation and uses

It is grown in South East Asia, China India, Bangladesh and the Philippines and even extends to Australia. It is native to India particularly in the western ghats of India covering Belgaum, north and south Kanara, Malabar and Travancore and also in Assam and West Bengal. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical areas.The leaves of the banabá and other parts are used widely in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan as a tea preparation. Banabá herb is one of the 69 herbal plants promoted by the Philippine Department of Health (DOH). In Vietnam, the plant's young leaves are consumed as vegetables, and its old leaves and mature fruit are used in traditional medicine for reducing glucose in blood. The seeds have narcotic properties.

Chemistry

Chemical compounds that have been isolated from the extract include corosolic acid, lager-stroemin, flosin B, and reginin A.

Medicinal uses

Giant crepe myrtle's seeds are narcotic, bark and leaves are purgative, roots are astringent, stimulant and febrifuge (fever removing). Decoction of leaves is used in diabetes. In Manipur, its fruit is used locally applied for apathy of the mouth

Recognition

Pride of India or Tāmhan in Marathi is recognised as the state flower of the state of Maharashtra in India.

In Hindu mythology, it is said that worshipping Lord Brahma results in blossoming of these flowers of giant crepe myrtle and banaba tree and as such it brings prosperity to the house.

In Buddhism

In Theravada Buddhism, this plant is said to have been used as the tree for achieving enlightenment, or Bodhi by the eleventh Buddha ("Paduma – පදුම"), and the twelfth Buddha (Naarada – නාරද)t. The plant is known as මුරුත (Murutha) in Sinhala and Mahaasona – මහාසොණ in Sanskrit.