Nature Diary
The Jarul tree (Manimaruthu, Kadhali)
Lagerstroemia speciosa

Pride of India, or Queen's Flower is a species of Lagerstroemia native to tropical southern Asia. It is a deciduous tree with bright pink to light purple flowers which look like delicate crape paper. It is the state flower of Maharashtra.
It is a small to medium-sized to large tree growing to 15 metres tall, with an attractive symmetrical crown having a short bole or trunk with smooth, light grey or cream-coloured bark which tends to peel.
The leaves are simple, deciduous, oval to elliptic, with an elongated apex or tip. The flowers are produced in erect panicles 20–40 cm long. Each flower has six white to purple petals. The fruits are ellipsoid woody capsules. They are green at first, but later turn brown and finally black. The fruits hang on to the trees. It is easily raised through seeds. It grows best on rich deep alluvial loams and prefers warm, humid and moist soils and can withstand water logging.
Flowering occurs 3–5 years after planting and the main flowering season is April–June with a second flush in July–August. The fruits ripen in November–January.
It is native to India particularly in the western ghats of India and also in Assam and West Bengal. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. The seeds have narcotic properties. Its old leaves and mature fruit are used in traditional medicine for reducing glucose in blood.