Lagerstroemia speciosa

Pride of India, Pyinma, Queen's Crape Myrtle, Giant Crape Myrtle, Banaba

Message of the Flower

Intimacy with Universal Nature

The Mother’s Comment

This intimacy is only possible for those who are vast and without preferences or repulsions.

Spiritual Message by the Mother/ Quotes by Sri Aurobindo

There are relations, personal, intimate as life itself, sweet as love, encompassing like the sky, deep like deep waters. A Friend walks at our side; a Lover is with us in our heart's secrecy; a Master of the Work and the Ordeal points our way; a Creator of things uses us as his instrument; we are in the arms of the eternal Mother.

Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga - I: The Master of the Work

The more you give yourself to the Divine the more He is with you, totally, constantly, at every minute, in all your thoughts, all your needs, and that there's no aspiration which does not receive an immediate answer; and you have the sense of a complete, constant intimacy, of a total nearness. It is as though you carried… as though the Divine were all the time with you; you walk and He walks with you, you sleep and He sleeps with you, you eat and He eats with you, you think and He thinks with you, you love and He is the love you have. But for this one must give himself entirely, totally, exclusively…

The Mother, Questions and Answers 1955: 20 July 1955

Colour

Rose purple

Family

Lythraceae

Person who named the flower

Carl Linnaeus

Flower Size

Up to 3 inches in diameter

Flower Texture

Delicate, paper-like

Number of Petals

Six

Floral Symmetry

Radial

Fragrance of Flower

Mildly fragrant

Leaf Texture

Smooth, leathery

Leaf Arrangement

Opposite or whorled

Leaf Color

Green, turning reddish-purple in colder months

Structural Variation (Shrub or Tree)

Large tree

Life Cycle

Perennial

Blooming Period

Late spring to early fall

Climate

Tropical and subtropical

Water Requirements

Moderate, drought tolerant when established

Soil Type

Well-drained loamy or clay, adaptable

Temperature Ranges

Prefers warm, not frost tolerant

Sun or Shade

Full sun

Susceptibility to Insects and Diseases

Aphids, powdery mildew, leaf spot

Pollinators

Bees, butterflies

Habitat

Native to Southeast Asia, cultivated worldwide in suitable climates

Role in the Ecosystem

Nectar source, shade tree

Quotations

None noted

Ornamental

Striking flowers, beautiful bark

Uses in Other Aspects of Life

Landscaping, urban greening, traditional medicine

Endangered Status

Not endangered