General Informations
Lagerstroemia speciosa (giant crepe-myrtle, Queen’s crepe-myrtle, banabá plant for Philippines, or pride of India) is a species of Lagerstroemia native to tropical southern Asia.
It is grown in South East Asia, India and the Philippines. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. The leaves of the banabá and other parts are used widely in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan as a tea preparation. Banabá herb is one of the 69 herbal plants promoted by the Philippine Department of Health (DOH). In Vietnam the plant’s young leaves are consumed as vegetables, and its old leaves and mature fruit are used in traditional medicine for reducing glucose in blood
