Commonly known as Crape Myrtle or Crepe myrtle is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and Evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia and in warmer climates around the world.
Although various species and cultivars are able to fill a wide variety of landscape needs, the crepe myrtle is best known for its colorful and long-lasting flowers.
Flowers  are born in summer and autumn in panicles of crinkled flowers with a crepe-like texture. Colors vary from deep purple to red to white, with almost every shade in between. Although no blue-flowered varieties exist, it is toward the blue end of the spectrum that the flowers trend, with no sight of orange or yellow except in stamens and pistils. The fruit is a capsule, green and succulent at first, then ripening to dark brown or black dryness. It splits along six or seven lines, producing teeth much like those of the calyx, and releases numerous small winged seeds.

Your sub-tropical and tropical species can readily be seen both in private and commercial landscapes. Some species' timber has been used to manufacture bridges, furniture and railway sleepers.

A french botanist, Andre Michaux, in approximately 1790 introduced the common Crepe Myrtle to Charleston, South Carolina..  In the wild the species is most often found as a multi-stemmed large shrub, but two hundred years of cultivation has resulted in a huge number of cultivars of widely varying characteristics. Today it is possible to find crape myrtles to fill every landscape needs, from tidy street trees to dense barrier hedges all the way down to fast-growing dwarf types of less than two feet which can go from seed to bloom in a season (allowing gardeners in places where the plant is not winter hardy to still enjoy the intense colors of the frilly flowers). In Europe crape myrtle is common in the south of France, the Iberian Peninsula and all of Italy; in the United States it can be seen anywhere south of USDA Zone 6, doing best and avoiding fungal diseases in mild climates that are not overly humid such as inland California and Texas. In some parts of Texas, the Crape myrtle is also known as a Cuddle Tree.

The Japanese Crape Myrtle is not as widely known as the common myrtle; however it is slowly capturing fame in the commercial market as a landscaping plant and as a parent in the complex hybrids.  This species is definitely tree like with colorful deciduous bark and dark green leaves that are more fungal disease resistant.

The Queen Crape myrtle, also known as Giant Crape myrtle originates in subtropical and tropical India.  This species can be grown anywhere in the world that has similar climate; however, in the United States is only suitable for southern part of Florida, southern most Texas, southern California and Hawaii..
It is a large evergreen tree with magnificent rosy-mauve flowers and a striking white bark, suitable for public parks and avenues.  Only seed-grown species is available for sale.

 Buy state certified crepe myrtles at a reputable gardening nursery.