Lagerstroemia microcarpa

Lagerstroemia microcarpa is a flowering tree that is endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range, located in southwestern India.

Description
The tree grows more than 30 m tall. It is easily distinguishable by its smooth white bark that peels off in large papery flakes. In the Western Ghats it naturally occurs in moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests, usually in openings. It is a light demanding tree in the later stages of its life. It has beautiful white flowers as well.

Even though in the natural forests enormous specimens of Lagerstroemia microcarpa are abundant, seedlings are usually absent. As per KFRI's research, every year this tree is known to produce millions of seeds out of which very few to none germinate on account of the non-viability of majority of seeds (due to the lack of a viable embryo, except rarely) and also the gap between seed dispersal and the rainy season. KFRI also found that the rate of natural regeneration is adversely affected by forest fire. Assisted germination using vermiculite or foam sheet have been found to give fairly reasonable germination percentages. Such trials may need to be conducted in the future to prevent the disappearance of this species from the forests.