Lagerstroemia speciosa

Botanical Name – Lagerstroemia speciosa

Common Name – Kramuka (Sanskrit), Jarul (Hindi), Tahman (Marathi), Hole Dasavala (Kannada), Manimaruth, Neer-Venthekku (Malayalam)

Habit

• Small in dry deciduous forests, medium sized in moist deciduous forests
• Fast growing
  
  

Habitat

• Grown near rivers, streams
  
  

Distribution

• Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa
  
  

Specific Properties

• Fire resistant
• Habitat generalist
• Effective in soil erosion control
• Preferred for restoration of degraded land, land reclamation
  
  

Ecology

• Larval host plant for Large Oakblue and Centaur Oakblue butterfly
• Attracts lots of insects specially Apis and Xylocopa bees, which are its pollinators
• Parakeet feed on fruits
  
  

Uses

• Leaves are used to treat diabetes, urinary problems malarial fever, cracked feet
• Bark is used for treatment of diarrhoea and abdominal pains
• Leaf extract is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity and anti-fibrotic
• Decoction of leaves is used in diabetes
• Yields tannin, dye
• The wood is used for boats, canoes
• Leaves as fodder
  
  

Propagation

• Seeds
• Air layering