Lagerstroemia speciosa
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Lagerstroemia speciosa (Giant Crape-myrtle, Queen's Crape-myrtle, Banabá Plant for Philippines, or
Pride of India) is a species of Lagerstroemia native to tropical southern Asia
.
growing to 20 m tall, with smooth, flaky bark. The leaves
are deciduous
, oval to elliptic, 8-15 cm long and 3-7 cm broad, with an acute apex. The flower
s are produced in erect panicle
s 20-40 cm long, each flower with six white to purple petals 2-3.5 cm long.
and the Philippines
. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant
in tropical and subtropical areas
.
Banaba has a long history of folkloric medical applications that include blood pressure control, urinary dysfunctions (helps ease urination), controls the cholesterol levels, treatment of diarrhea, facilitates bowel movement, and as analgesic. The primary active chemical ingredient of the extract is corosolic acid, and there are also numerous possible synergists including lager-stroemin, flosin B and reginin A. The leaves of the Banaba and other parts are used widely by the Philippines, Taiwan
, and Japan
as a tea preparation. Banaba herb is one of the ten herbal plants approved by the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) through its "Traditional Health Program".
Lagerstroemia speciosa (Giant Crape-myrtle, Queen's Crape-myrtle, Banabá Plant for Philippines, or
Pride of India) is a species of Lagerstroemia native to tropical southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Growth
It is a small to medium-sized treeTree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 20 m tall, with smooth, flaky bark. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
, oval to elliptic, 8-15 cm long and 3-7 cm broad, with an acute apex. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in erect panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s 20-40 cm long, each flower with six white to purple petals 2-3.5 cm long.
Cultivation and uses
It is grown in South East Asia, IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
in tropical and subtropical areas
Subtropics
The subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
.
Banaba has a long history of folkloric medical applications that include blood pressure control, urinary dysfunctions (helps ease urination), controls the cholesterol levels, treatment of diarrhea, facilitates bowel movement, and as analgesic. The primary active chemical ingredient of the extract is corosolic acid, and there are also numerous possible synergists including lager-stroemin, flosin B and reginin A. The leaves of the Banaba and other parts are used widely by the Philippines, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as a tea preparation. Banaba herb is one of the ten herbal plants approved by the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) through its "Traditional Health Program".