Syringa

File:Lilac Bush.jpg

Lilacs are small trees, ranging in size from {{convert|2|to|10|m}} tall, with stems up to {{convert|20|to|30|cm}} diameter. The leaves are opposite (occasionally in whorls of three) in arrangement, and their shape is simple and heart-shaped to broad lanceolate in most species, but pinnate in a few species (e.g. S. protolaciniata, S. pinnatifolia).{{Cite web |title=Lilac {{!}} Description, Major Species, Varieties, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/lilac |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}

The flowers are produced in spring, each flower being {{convert|5|to|10|mm}} in diameter with a four-lobed corolla, the corolla tube narrow, {{convert|5|to|20|mm}} long; they are monoecious, with fertile stamens and stigma in each flower. The usual flower colour is a shade of purple (often a light purple or "lilac"), but white, pale yellow and pink, and even a dark burgundy color are also found.

The flowers grow in large panicles, and in several species have a strong fragrance. Flowering varies between mid spring to early summer, depending on the species.{{cite book |editor-last=Huxley |editor-first= A. |date=1992 |title=New RHS Dictionary of Gardening |location=London, United Kingdom |publisher= Macmillan |isbn=0-333-47494-5}} One particular cultivar, trademark Bloomerang, first blooms in spring and then again late summer through fall.{{cite web | url=https://extension.umn.edu/trees-and-shrubs/lilacs#spring-through-fall-%28may---september%29-1923412 | title=Growing lilacs for Minnesota landscapes }}{{cite web|title=Syringa Bloomerang® Purple (Reblooming Lilac) {{!}} Lilac Bloomerang® Purple Syringa × 'Penda' |url=https://www.gardenia.net/plant/syringa-bloomerang-purple}}

The fruit is a dry, brown capsule, splitting in two at maturity to release the two winged seeds.

The English common name "lilac" is from the French lilac{{Cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=lilac|title = Origin and meaning of lilac |website= Online Etymology Dictionary |date= 6 July 2017 |access-date=}}{{cite book|author=Vedel, H.|author2= Lange, J. |year=1960|title=Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow |publisher=Metheun & Co. Ltd.|location=London}} via the {{langx|ar|لِيلَك|līlak}} from {{langx|fa|ليلنج|lilanj}} meaning the indigo plant{{cite encyclopedia |title=Lilac |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |last1= Aryavand |first1=Ahmad |last2=Grami |first2=Bahram | date= 29 June 2015 |publisher= Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation |edition= online |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/lilac |access-date= 10 December 2022 }} or {{lang|fa|نیلک}} nilak meaning "bluish"; both lilanj and nilak come from Persian {{lang|fa|نیل}} nīl "indigo" or {{lang|fa|نیلي}} nili "dark blue".

The genus Syringa was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus and the description was published in Species Plantarum.{{cite book|last1=Linnaeus |first1=Carl |title=Species Plantarum |date=1 May 1753|location=London |page=9 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/13829#page/21/mode/1up|access-date=1 July 2016}} The genus name Syringa is derived from Ancient Greek word syrinx meaning "pipe" or "tube" and refers to the hollow branches of S. vulgaris.{{cite web|last1=Jensen |first1=Bo |title=Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) |url=http://www.bojensen.net/EssentialOilsEng/EssentialOils17/EssentialOils17.htm |publisher=Bo Jensen:Essential Oils |access-date=1 July 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=syrinx |title= Origin and meaning of syrinx |last=Harper |first=Douglas |date= 8 January 2014 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=}}

Homonym Syringa Tourn. ex Adans. is a heterotypic synonym of Philadelphus.{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:37170-1 |title= Syringa Tourn. ex Adans. |date= 2022 | website=Plants of the World Online |publisher= Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=10 December 2022 }}

File:lilac.head.600pix.jpg

File:Lilac buds.jpg

File:Lilac wood lengthwise section.png

Lilacs are popular shrubs in parks and gardens throughout the temperate zone, and several hybrids and numerous cultivars have been developed. The term French lilac is often used to refer to modern double-flowered cultivars, thanks to the work of prolific breeder Victor Lemoine. Lilacs grow most successfully in well-drained soils, particularly those based on chalk.Hillier Nurseries, The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs, David and Charles, 1998, p. 659 {{ISBN|0-7153-0808-4}} They flower on old wood, and produce more flowers if unpruned. If pruned, the plant responds by producing fast-growing young vegetative growth with no flowers, in an attempt to restore the removed branches. Lilac bushes can be prone to powdery mildew disease.

Lilac wood is not commonly used or commercially harvested due to the small size of the tree.{{cite web |last1=Meier |first1=Eric |title=Lilac |url=https://www.wood-database.com/lilac/ |website=The Wood Database |access-date=10 June 2023}} It is a relatively hard wood, with an estimated Janka hardness of 2,350 lbf (10,440 N), and is reportedly good for woodturning.

The sapwood is typically cream-coloured and the heartwood can have various streaks of brown and purple.

Species have been historically used in various traditional medicines in Asia for treating ailments including cough, diarrhea, acute icteric hepatitis, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bronchitis.{{cite journal |last1=Zhu |first1=Wenbo |title=Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of genus Syringa: A comprehensive review |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |date=October 10, 2020 |volume=266 |page=113465 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2020.113465 |pmid=33049343 |s2cid=222352460 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874120333511}} Compounds isolated from species of Syringa include phenylpropanoids such as syringin and iridoids such as oleuropein. Substituent compounds, such as iridoids, as well as crude extracts from Syringa plants have been shown to have to have effects including antitumor, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antifungal activities in pharmacological studies.{{cite journal |last1=Su |first1=Guozhu |title=Phytochemical and pharmacological progress on the genus Syringa |journal=Chemistry Central Journal |date=27 January 2015 |volume=9 |issue=2 |page=2 |doi=10.1186/s13065-015-0079-2 |pmid=25642281 |pmc=4312558 |doi-access=free }}

{{See also|Language of flowers}}

Lilacs are often considered to symbolize first love.{{Cite web |title=The Meanings Behind the Most Popular Valentine's Day Flowers |url=https://www.bhg.com/holidays/valentines-day/decorating/romantic-flower-meanings/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Better Homes & Gardens |language=en}}

In Greece, Macedonia, Lebanon, and Cyprus, the lilac is strongly associated with Easter time because it flowers around that time; it is consequently called paschalia.

In the poem When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, by Walt Whitman, lilacs are a reference to Abraham Lincoln.

The music-hall song by Ivor Novello, We'll Gather Lilacs, first performed in 1945, speaks of the longing of two lovers to be reunited in a traditional English rural setting. It has since been recorded and performed by numerous artists.{{Cite web |last=ruthstrangeway |date=2021-01-06 |title=We'll Gather Lilacs In The Spring Again |url=https://ruthstrangeway.com/2021/01/06/well-gather-lilacs-in-the-spring-again/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Ruth Strangeway - Singer |language=en}}

Syringa vulgaris is the state flower of New Hampshire, because it "is symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State."{{Cite web|date=2019|title=New Hampshire Almanac: State Flower and State Wildflower |url=https://www.nh.gov/almanac/flower.htm |access-date=22 December 2020 |website=nh.gov}}

File:Royal Botanical Gardens Lilac Celebration.JPG near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada]]

Several locations in North America hold annual Lilac Festivals, including:

• The Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, which celebrates "Lilac Sunday" every May. The Arboretum shows off its collection of over 422 lilac plants, of 194 different varieties.{{Cite web |url=http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/lilac_intro.html |title=Harvard.edu |access-date=16 May 2009 |archive-date=6 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206000723/http://arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/lilac_intro.html |url-status=dead }} Lilac Sunday is the only day of the year when picnicking is allowed on the grounds of the Arboretum.
• Lombard, Illinois, called the "Lilac Village", which has an annual lilac festival and parade in May. The village also contains Lilacia Park, a garden with over 200 varieties of lilacs, as well as over 50 kinds of tulips.
• Mackinac Island, in Michigan, which celebrates a weeklong lilac festival and lilac parade each June.
• Rochester, New York, which has held its Lilac Festival since 1898, hosts the longest-running festival in North America. Held in Highland Park, this celebration features 1,200 shrubs, representing over 500 varieties, many of which were developed in Rochester. It is the largest collection of varieties at any single place.
• The Royal Botanical Gardens near Hamilton, Ontario, which holds its Lilac Celebration each May.
• Spokane, Washington, known as the "Lilac City", which holds an annual lilac festival and lilac parade.
• Franktown, Ontario, Canada, known as the Lilac Capital of Canada, holds an annual festival. With drystone masonry demonstrations and horse pulled wagon rides. {{cite web|url=http://www.lanarkcountytourism.ca/franktown-lilac-festival/|title=Franktown Lilac Festival|publisher=Lanark County Tourism|access-date=8 July 2012}}
• Calgary, Alberta, Canada, holds an annual one-day Lilac Festival, which is primarily a street festival.

Species and subspecies currently accepted as of July 2016:

• Syringa emodi Wall. ex Royle – Himalayan lilac - northern India, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal
• Syringa josikaea J.Jacq. ex Rchb.f. – Hungarian lilac - Carpathian Mountains of Romania and Ukraine
• Syringa komarowii C.K.Schneid. – nodding lilac - Gansu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan
• Syringa oblata Lindl. – early blooming lilac or broadleaf lilac - Korea, Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan
• Syringa oblata subsp. dilatata'' – Korean early lilac - Nakai - Korea, Jilin, Liaoning
• Syringa pinetorum W.W.Sm. – Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan
• Syringa pinnatifolia Hemsl. – Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan
• Syringa pubescens Turcz. – Korea, Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan
• Syringa reticulata (Blume) H.Hara (syn. S. pekinensis) – Japanese tree lilac - Primorye, Japan, Korea, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan
• Syringa tomentella Bureau & Franch. – Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan
• Syringa villosa Vahl – villous lilac - Primorye, Korea, Hebei, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning
• Syringa vulgaris L. – common lilac - native to Balkans; naturalized in western and central Europe, and many scattered locations in North America{{cite web |title=Biota of North America Program county distribution map, Syringa vulgaris |url=http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Syringa%20vulgaris.png}}

• S. × chinensis (S. vulgaris × S. persica)
• S. × diversifolia (S. oblata × S. pinnatifolia)
• S. × henryi (S. josikaea × S. villosa)
• S. × hyacinthiflora (S. oblata × S. vulgaris)
• S. × josiflexa (S. josikaea × S. komarowii)
• S. × laciniata (S. protolaciniata × S. vulgaris) – cut-leaf lilac or cutleaf lilac
• S. × persica L. (syn Syringa protolaciniata) – Persian lilac - Afghanistan, Pakistan, western Himalayas, Gansu, Qinghai
• S. × prestoniae (S. komarowii × S. villosa)
• S. × swegiflexa (S. komarowii × S. sweginzowii)

File:Syringa microphylla C.jpg|Syringa microphylla

File:Syringa emodi 002.jpg|Syringa emodi flowers

File:Syringa vulgaris Sarah Sands.jpg|Syringa vulgaris 'Sarah Sands'

File:Syringa meyeri Palibin.jpg|Syringa meyeri 'Palibin'

File:Syringa 'Pamyat o Vekhove' 01.jpg|Syringa 'Pamyat o Vekhove'

File:Ab plant 487.jpg|White syringa

File:Šeřík1.jpg|Syringarium with trees in blossom

File:Syringa 'Pavlinka' 03.JPG|Syringa 'Pavlinka'

File:Syringa 'Oberon' 01.JPG|Syringa 'Oberon'

File:Lilacs 2.jpg|A double-flowered Syringa vulgaris cultivar

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{{Commons category|Syringa}}

{{Wiktionary|lilac}}

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Category:Garden plants

Category:Oleaceae genera

Category:Shrubs

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus