Lagerstroemia

de Wilde, W. J. J. O. & Duyfjes, B. E. E., 2014, Lagerstroemia (Lythraceae) in Malesia, Blumea 59 (2), pp. 113-122 : 113-114

Lagerstroemia

Lagerstroemia L. (1759) 1068, 1076, 1372; Miq. (1856, ‘1855’) 621; Kurz (1877) 520; Koehne (1903) 252, f. 55; Gagnep. (1921) 937; Furtado & Srisuko (1969) 186; S.A. Graham (2007) 240; W.J. de Wilde & Duyfjes (2013) 90. — Type: Lagerstroemia indica L.

Murtughas L. ex Kuntze (1891) 249, nom. superfl. — Type: Lagerstroemia flos­reginae Retz .

Fatioa DC.(1828) 88. — Type: Fatioa napaulensis DC. (= Lagerstroemia parviflora Roxb. ).

Pterocalymna Turcz. (1846) 508. — Type: Pterocalymna paniculata Turcz. (= Lagerstroemia paniculata (Turcz.) S.Vidal ).

Munchausea L. (1770) 356. — Type: Munchausea speciosa L. (= Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers.).

Adambea Lam. (1783) 39. — Type: Adambea glabra Lam. (= Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers.).

Orias Dode (1909) 232. — Type: Orias excelsa Dode (= Lagerstroemia excelsa (Dode) Chun ex S.K.Lee & L.F.Lau ).

Trees or shrubs. Twigs usually 4-angled, glabrous or hairy. Leaves opposite, decussate (in herbarium specimens seem- ingly distichous), or alternate, petiolate; lamina simple, ovate or oblong, margin entire; stipules absent or minute, caducous. Inflorescences paniculate (dichasial in side-branches), terminal or axillary. Flowers (sub)sessile, articulate at apex of short or long ultimate branchings of the inflorescence (true pedicels), 2 -bracteolate at apex, bracts small, often caducous; calyx (hypanthium) campanulate or funnel-shaped, consisting of calyx tube and pseudopedicel (i.e. the narrowed basal part of the calyx), smooth or ridged, calyx appendages (auricles) absent or present; calyx lobes (sepals) 6–9 (mostly 6), valvate, triangular, acute, often caudate (forming a nipple in bud); petals 6–9 (mostly 6), purple (pink or white), crumpled, clawed; stamens numerous, inserted near the base of the calyx tube, dimorphic in most species: 6–11 antesepalous, larger; ovary sessile, (4–)6-locular; style long, slender; stigma small, (sub)- capitate. Fruit a dry, near-woody capsule, almost free from calyx, 4–6-valved, loculicidally dehiscent, clefts usually not reaching the base. Seeds numerous, ± 3-angular, winged, imbricate; cotyledons rolled.

Distribution — About 50 species distributed in India east to China, Japan, southeast through Malesia to N Australia; in Malesia: 11 indigenous species, and three cultivated species.

Notes — 1. The most recent division into sections and subsections is given by Furtado & Srisuko (1969), emended by De Wilde & Duyfjes (2013). In the latter enumeration in the synonymy of sect. Lagerstroemia erroneously is mentioned Velaga Gaertn. as a genus, but this genus does not exist in Lythraceae and should be deleted. The reference Lagerstroemia sect. velaga (Gaertn.) Miq. in the said synonymy is erroneous and should read: Lagerstroemia subg. Velaga Miq. (1856) 622; (1858) 1090. — Lectotype (here designated): Lagerstroemia indica L. The valid species name Velaga globosa Gaertn. is a synonym of Lagerstroemia indica . The genus name Velaga Adans. belongs in Sterculiaceae .

2. The stamens can be either monomorphic when they are all equal in length, or dimorphic: 6–11 outer stamens antesepalous with fertile pollen, and 12 to numerous stamens antepetalous, shorter, with sterile pollen.