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Forestry
Champion Trees
Champion Crepe Myrtle -
(Lagerstroemia indica L.)
The common "Crepe myrtle" (Lagerstroemia indica L.) is sometimes seen written as "Crape myrtle" or "Ladies' Streamer" and is perhaps one of the most common plants chosen for summer color in southern landscapes. This deciduous tree can reach an average height of 30 feet or more and has opposite or alternate leaf arrangement, with entire, obovate to oval, acute or obtuse leaves from 1/2 to 2 inches long that are green above and paler along veins beneath, and generally have beautiful fall foliage ; the autumn color of the leaves somewhat dependent upon the color of the flowers. The bark of the tree is thin and exfoliating, exposing a smooth, often convoluted pale surface. A native of China and India, the Crepe myrtle is cultivated extensively from Texas to Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas; eastward to Florida, and northward to Virginia, and much commercial cultivation in California, with zone 7 as the most northern limit. There is another Crepe myrtle, called Queen's Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia speciosa) , that is capable of reaching a height of 50 feet but it will not over winter successfully in Arkansas. Some common cultivars are Lagerstroemia indica L. nana(dwarf), lavandula(dwarf blue), pink(rosea), red(rubra), purpurea(purple), Oklahoma red(magenta rubra), and white(alba). Crepe myrtles bloom when they are very young, however older trees produce the most flowers when they have been pruned back, blooming continually during the summer. Propagation is from seed planted in the fall and kept moist until ready for planting outdoors in the spring, or from cuttings of ripe wood.
This tree located at the Alexander home along highway 70 near the Walker Road intersection east of the Galloway exit. It is owned by Fredrick Harper in Knoxville, TN. This giant has a Bigness Index (BI) of 146 and stands 43 feet in height, with a crown spread of 47 feet, and the largest cane or trunk is 7 feet and 7 inches in circumference.
Jim Grant, Conservation Education Manager with the
Arkansas Forestry Commission, is dwarfed by this behemoth Crepe Myrtle; yes
indeed I said Crepe Myrtle. This beautiful pink flowered giant is the
Arkansas Champion Crepe Myrtle discovered and nominated in July 2001 by
Reggie Talley, retired County Extension Agent-Staff Chair in Monroe County.
The genus name, Lagerstroemia , was named after Magnus Lagerstroem (1696-1759), a Swedish friend of Linnaeus [Carl Vonn Linne(1707-1783) the Swedish botanist who established the binomial system of nomenclature], and the species name indica is from India.
By: Reggie Talley
Retired Monroe County Extension Agent
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