Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Lagerstromia

LAGERSTROMIA (lag-ur-stru'mi-ā) (named after Magnus Lagerström, of Gothenburg), the typical genus of the tribe Lagerstromieæ. It consists of 14 East Indian and Chinese trees and shrubs, with splendid flowers. L. indica, a shrub common in Indian gardens, has crumpled petals. It is from China. The flowers of L. flos reginæ, or L. reginæ, are in panicles, at first of a pale-rose color, but afterward deepening into a fine purple. It is a large, deciduous tree, growing in eastern Bengal and Burma. Its bark and leaves are considered to be purgative and hydragogue, and the seeds to be narcotic. The timber is regarded in the E. of India and Burma as the most valuable of any except teak. It is used in the East for ship and boat building, making carts, gun carriages, etc. L. lanceolata, L. microcarpa, and L. parviflora, growing in India, L. tomentosa in Burma and Pegu, and L. hypoleuca in the Andaman Islands, have also valuable wood. L. flos reginæ, L. parviflora, and L. tomentosa yield gum resins. The bark of L. parviflora is used in India for tanning, and along with the bark of Terminalia tomentosa for dyeing skins black.