Crapemyrtle

I went outside with a specific tree in mind to identify and talk about in this week’s blog but as I was walking, dark pink flowers stood out among a mostly green back ground.img_1552-2

Lagerstremia indica, known as crapemyrtle. This tree is not a Texas native and can occur with several shades of flowers, which complicated the identification process. Ultimately characteristics such as the leaves, smooth bark on multiple trunks, and flowering season (summer-fall) narrowed down the process.  L. indica is planted along roads and in open yards because it requires full sunlight.  there are many hybrids of this genus to increase resistance to disease and hardiness.

Inaturalist identification can be found here

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