Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Lagerstroemia speciosa
Edible: Leaves - tea, Dried fruit - tea
A tree. It grows 20 m tall. The trunk is short and twisted. The crown is dense and rounded. The brown is cream grey and peels in thin flakes. The leaves are 8-18 cm long by 5-8 cm wide. Leaves are smooth. Old leaves become orange-red. The flowers are 5-8 cm across. They are bright pink to purple. They are in clusters 30-40 cm long near the crown. The fruit are 2-3 cm wide.
It is a tropical plant. It grows in forests and along roadsides in Vietnam. In Rockhampton Botanical gardens.
Common Names: Giant crepe myrtle, Banaba, Bang lang nuoc, Gawkng-uchyamang, Hani, Jarul, Mai-sa-hpong, Pohon bungur raty, Pyinma, Pyinma-yetthey, Thwemu