Color Challenge - Monday Red - Lagerstroemia (Crepe Myrtle)

Close up of Crepe Myrtle bloom and berries.

The Lagerstroemia commonly known as the Crepe Myrtle is used extensively for landscaping in California. The Red Crepe Myrtle pictured is from my neighborhood. The Lagerstroemia is native to India and southeast Asia as well as northern Australia and parts of Oceania. The long lasting blooms come on in the summer. The berries dry out and stay on the tree into the winter. My neighborhood has only Red Crepe Myrtles but other varieties range from purple to red to white.

The wrinkled flowers have a wonderful crepe-like delicacy.

The variety in my neighborhood are 8' to 10' tall and have a single trunk spreading out with the foliage and blooms. This particular tree hasn't been that well manicured but you can see the general shape of the tree. It has posts on either side of the trunk and is tied up to them for support against the wind.

Dublin, California. August 5, 2018. All photos original.