n. an tall East Indian and Chinese shrub (Lagerstroemia indica of the loosestrife family, commonly planted in Southern and Western U. S. as an ornamental shrub. It has clusters of red, white, purple, or pink flowers.
Syn. -- crepe myrtle, crepe flower, Lagerstroemia indica. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. myrtil bilberry, prop., a little myrtle, from myrte myrtle, L. myrtus, murtus, Gr. my`rtos; cf. Per. mūrd. ] (Bot.) A species of the genus Myrtus, especially Myrtus communis. The common myrtle has a shrubby, upright stem, eight or ten feet high. Its branches form a close, full head, thickly covered with ovate or lanceolate evergreen leaves. It has solitary axillary white or rosy flowers, followed by black several-seeded berries. The ancients considered it sacred to Venus. The flowers, leaves, and berries are used variously in perfumery and as a condiment, and the beautifully mottled wood is used in turning. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The name is also popularly but wrongly applied in America to two creeping plants, the blue-flowered periwinkle and the yellow-flowered moneywort. In the West Indies several myrtaceous shrubs are called myrtle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bog myrtle, the sweet gale. --
Crape myrtle. See under Crape. --
Myrtle warbler (Zool.), a North American wood warbler (Dendroica coronata); -- called also myrtle bird, yellow-rumped warbler, and yellow-crowned warbler. --
Myrtle wax. (Bot.) See Bayberry tallow, under Bayberry. --
Sand myrtle, a low, branching evergreen shrub (Leiophyllum buxifolium), growing in New Jersey and southward. --
Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera). See Bayberry. [ 1913 Webster ]