‘Tuscarora’ Lagerstroemia1

Abstract

Abstract ‘Tuscarora’, with dark coral flowers (Fig.1), is the first significant flower color break recovered among L. indica L. × L. fauriei Koehne progeny. Lagerstroemia, commonly known as crapemyrtle, for the most part has been commercially distributed only in red, pink, lavender, and white flower forms. Although The Lagerstroemia Handbook/Checklist (1) enumerates numerous cultivars, few have proved superior to unnamed color forms, or have been of commercial significance, because of mildew incited by Erysiphe lagerstroemiae E. West. From earlier hybridization at the U.S. National Arboretum, 6 mildew-resistant L. indica cultivars (‘Catawba’, ‘Cherokee’, ‘Conestoga’, ‘Potomac’, ‘Powhatan’, and ‘Seminole’) have been introduced (2, 3). More recently, the profuse flowering of L. indica was recombined with the bark coloration, mildew resistance, and growth habit characteristics of L. fauriei to produce ‘Muskogee’ and ‘Natchez’ (4). ‘Tuscarora’ is another noteworthy advance in the breeding of mildew-free Lagerstroemia cultivars.