crape myrtle

Or crepe myrtle

noun

a tall Chinese shrub, Lagerstroemia indica, of the loosestrife family, having clusters of crinkled red, pink, purple, or white flowers, grown as an ornamental in the southern and western U.S.

crape myrtle

noun

an oriental lythraceous shrub, Lagerstroemia indica, cultivated in warm climates for its pink, red, or white flowers

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Word History and Origins

Origin of crape myrtle¹

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

That’s the sound of shade tree advocates unhappy that I’m mentioning crape myrtles in this list.

From

Tree varieties include Eureka lemon, pink guava, Golden Delicious apple, coast live oak, olive, crape myrtle, California sycamore, desert willow and torrey pines.

From

They also claimed the crape myrtles would provide similar amounts of shade and noise reduction.

From

The crape myrtle bark scale has crept into the D.C. region in recent years.

From

While their leafy cousins parade their fabulous colors this month, the future for crape myrtles across the region — and beyond — is decidedly gray.

From

crape jasmine crapola

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