八宝树 ba bao shu

Lagerstroemia grandiflora Roxburgh ex Candolle, Mém. Soc. Hist. Nat. Genève 32: 84. 1826; Duabanga sonneratioides Buchanan-Hamilton.

Trees, medium to tall, 30[-40] m tall, glabrous. Leaves rigid, distichous; petiole to 1.2 cm; leaf blade abaxially pale green, adaxially dark green, ovate to oblong, broad, 12-15 × 5-7 cm, abaxially glaucous, lateral veins [12-]20-24 pairs, base cordate, apex shortly acuminate. Corymbs 3-20-flowered, drooping at ends of branches; pedicels 3-4 cm, stout. Floral tube broadly campanulate, 1.6-2.5 × 1.8-3 cm; sepals (5 or)6, green, thick, enlarged in fruit. Petals 6, white, obovate, 2.5-3 × 1.5-2 cm. Stamens numerous, ca. 50 or more, white, surpassing petals. Capsules subglobose, 3-4 × [3-]4-4.5 cm, 6-9-valved. Seeds 4-6 mm. Fl. spring. 2n = 48.

Valley forests, open places, especially on river banks; 900-1500 m. S Yunnan [Cambodia, E India (including Andaman Islands), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].

This species is used for timber. The flowers have an unpleasant odor.