winter Crepe Myrtle
The vaunted crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) arrived in England from its native China in 1759. It impressed very few people, though, because it refused to bloom. England just wasn’t hot enough. However, the American South was. So when plant explorer and botanist to King Louis XVI André Michaux introduced this tree into Charleston around 1786, it celebrated like an innocent prisoner released from jail. (source)
