Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

178. Reina de Ias flores, queen-of-flowers
LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY (LYTHRACEAE)
Planted for its numerous showy purple flowers,
this exotic tree is identified by: (1) the large,
loosely branched, terminal clusters 6-18 inches
long bearing many beautiful lavender or purple
(or on some trees pink) flowers '2-2% inches across,
with 6 rounded, crinkled and wavy-margined,
spreading petals; (2) the gray-brown rounded
seed capsules %-1% inches in dinineter, splitting
into 6 parts and shedding many brown winged
seeds 1h-% inch long; and (3) Dho lar~ elliptic
leaves abruptly short-pointed at apex and shortointed
at base, o posite or alternate, appearing to
ee in 2 rows on t E e long, spreading twigs
A small cultivated tree 15-30 feet hihh, with
trunk to 8 inches in diameter, or larger, and with
rounded or widely spreading dense crown. Deciduous
only in dry climates. The bark is gray or
light brown, snloothish to slightly fissured and
scaly. Inner bark is light brown and bitter to the
taste.
Leaves appear in 2 rows on bhe light p n twigs
as a result of bending of the short petioles l/s-S/s.
inch long. Leaf Hades are 5-12 inches long and
2%-5 inches broad, not toothed on edges, slightly
thickened, green on upper surface and paler
beneath.
Flower clusters (panicles) have stout, finely
hairy branches, with individual flower stalks
1/4-1/2 inch long. The very showy flowers have n
light pen, cup-shaped. 12-ridged base (hypanthium)
y8 inch high and nearly l/z inch broad,
minutely hairy, bearing 6 light green, pointed,
thickened, finely hairy sepals 6/10 inch long and
widely spreading, 6 stalked nearly round petals
1% inches long, and numerous purplish stamens
about % inch long. The pistil consists of a 6-called
ovary inch in diameter, n slender purplish style
about 1 inch long, becoming curved, and small
rounded peen stigma.
Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers.'
The seed capsules are nearly round or elliptic,
with dried hypanthium and sepals attached at
base. The many seeds, about 39,000 to a pound,
have a long, mostly narrow win . Flowering
from May througll October, the ruit maturing
from winter to summer.
The light brown sapwood is hard. An important
large timber tree in India, where the wood is
preferred for small boats, shipbuilding, and pilmg.
In Puerto Rico the tree is grown in the open
primarily for ornament and seldom produces a
straight stem.
Occasionally planted for ornament and shade,
such as a street tree and in gardens, in Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands and sometimes escaping
from cultivation. Common1 purplish flowered,
but n variation with pinkish i' owers is also
RANQE.-Native from India to southern Tw hina, n*
Malay Peninsula, Philippines, East Indies, and
northern Australia. Planted as an ornamental
flowering tree and escaping in many tropical lands.
Grown in southern Florida and West Indies
from Cuba and Jamaica (naturalized) to Puerto
Rico and Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique,
find Trinidnd and from Mexico to South America.
OTHER
P
COMMON N-.-tree crapemyrtle (Vir-
gin Islands) ; astromelia, flor de la reina (Venezuela)
; queen-of-flowers, queen-flower, pride-of-
India, .queen crapemyrtle (English) ; king-offlowers
(British Guiana) ; pyinma (commerce).
BOTANICAL SYNONYM. - Lagerstroemia flogreginae
Retz.
Astromelia or common cmpemyrtle (Lagerstroemh
indica L.') , a related sl~rub or small tree
from Asin, is a popular ornamental. It has small
elliptic leaves 1-2 inches long and showy masses of
pink, white, or purple flowers less than 1% inches
across.