Originating from the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The species has adapted well beyond its native range and is widely commercialized for its beauty particularly in the United States. Crape Myrtle has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in the United Kingdom. The species has given rise to many cultivars, particularly through hybridization with Lagerstroemia faurei to enhance cold hardiness and disease resistance and ornamental appeal​​. Photographed in Florida.