Syringa

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the lilac family}} {{Redirect|Lilac}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Stockholm-lilac.jpg |image_caption = ''Syringa vulgaris'', common lilac |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Syringa |authority = L. |synonyms_ref = <ref name="WFO">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000037351 |title= ''Syringa'' L. Sp. Pl.: 9 (1753) |date= 2022 | website=World Flora Online |publisher= World Flora Consortium |access-date=10 December 2022 }}</ref> |synonyms = *''Lilac'' Mill. *''Liliacum'' Renault *''Busbeckia'' Hécart, nom. inval. *''Ligustrina'' Rupr. }}

'''''Syringa''''' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family<ref name="WFO"/> called '''lilacs'''. They are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere.<ref name=fe>Flora Europaea: [http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Syringa&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= ''Syringa'']</ref><ref name=foc>Flora of China: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=132143 <big>丁香属</big> ding xiang shu ''Syringa'']</ref><ref name=fop>Flora of Pakistan: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=132143 ''Syringa'']</ref><ref name=grin>Germplasm Resources Information Network: [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?11814 ''Syringa''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121023752/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?11814 |date=21 January 2009 }}</ref>

The genus is most closely related to ''Ligustrum'' (privet), classified with it in Oleaceae tribus Oleeae subtribus Ligustrinae.<ref name=oxford>University of Oxford, Oleaceae information site: [http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/fraxigen/fraxinus/oleaceae.html New classification of the Oleaceae]</ref>

Lilacs are used as food plants by the larvae of some moth species, including lilac leaf mining moth,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lilac leaf mining moth / RHS Gardening |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/lilac-leaf-mining-moth |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.rhs.org.uk |language=en-gb}}</ref> privet hawk moth,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Privet Hawk-moth |url=https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/privet-hawk-moth |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=butterfly-conservation.org |language=en}}</ref> copper underwing, scalloped oak and Svensson's copper underwing.

== Description == thumbnail|Purple lilac bush

Lilacs are small trees, ranging in size from {{convert|2 to 10|m|ft|frac=2}} tall, with stems up to {{convert|20 to 30|cm|frac=2}} 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'' and ''S. pinnatifolia'').<ref>{{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}}</ref>

=== Flowers === thumb|Dormant lilac buds

The flowers are produced in spring, each flower being {{convert|5 to 10|mm|frac=8}} in diameter with a four-lobed corolla, the corolla tube narrow, {{convert|5 to 20|mm|abbr=on|frac=8}} 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.<ref name=foc/><ref name=fop/><ref name=grin/><ref name=rhs>{{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}}</ref> One particular cultivar, trademark ''Bloomerang'', first blooms in spring and then again late summer through fall.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://extension.umn.edu/trees-and-shrubs/lilacs#spring-through-fall-%28may---september%29-1923412 | title=Growing lilacs for Minnesota landscapes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=''Syringa'' Bloomerang® Purple (Reblooming Lilac) {{!}} Lilac Bloomerang® Purple ''Syringa'' × 'Penda' |url=https://www.gardenia.net/plant/syringa-bloomerang-purple}}</ref>

=== Fruit === The fruit is a dry, brown capsule, splitting in two at maturity to release the two winged seeds.<ref name=foc/><ref name=fop/><ref name=grin/><ref name=rhs/>

== Taxonomy == The genus ''Syringa'' was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus and the description was published in ''Species Plantarum''.<ref name="Kew" /><ref name="L.">{{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}}</ref> The genus name ''Syringa'' is derived from Ancient Greek word {{Lang|grc-Latn|syrinx}} meaning "pipe" or "tube" and refers to the hollow branches of ''S. vulgaris''.<ref name="Bo">{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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=}}</ref>

Homonym ''Syringa'' Tourn. ex Adans. is a heterotypic synonym of Philadelphus.<ref name="Kew">{{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 }}</ref>

===Species=== Species and subspecies currently accepted as of July 2016:<ref name="Kew"/><ref name=foc/> *''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<ref>{{cite web |title=Biota of North America Program county distribution map, ''Syringa vulgaris'' |url=http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Syringa%20vulgaris.png}}</ref>

===Hybrids=== *''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'')

== Etymology == The English common name "lilac" is from the French {{lang|fr|lilac}}<ref name=rhs/><ref name="Etymonline">{{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=}}</ref><ref name=vedel>{{cite book|author=Vedel, H.|author2= Lange, J. |year=1960|title=Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow |publisher=Metheun & Co. Ltd.|location=London}}</ref> via the {{langx|ar|لِيلَك|līlak}} from {{langx|fa|ليلنج|lilanj}} meaning the indigo plant<ref name="Iranica">{{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 }}</ref> or {{lang|fa|نیلک}} {{lang|fa-Latn|nilak}} meaning "bluish";<ref name="Etymonline"/> both ''lilanj'' and ''nilak'' come from Persian {{lang|fa|نیل}} {{lang|fa-Latn|nīl}} "indigo" or {{lang|fa|نیلي}} {{lang|fa-Latn|nili}} "dark blue".<ref name="Iranica"/>

==Cultivation and uses== [[File:lilac.head.600pix.jpg|thumb|A white, double-flowered cultivar]] thumb|Lilac wood

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.<ref>Hillier Nurseries, ''The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs'', David and Charles, 1998, p. 659 {{ISBN|0-7153-0808-4}}</ref> 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.<ref name="TWD">{{cite web |last1=Meier |first1=Eric |title=Lilac |url=https://www.wood-database.com/lilac/ |website=The Wood Database |access-date=10 June 2023}}</ref> It is a relatively hard wood, with an estimated Janka hardness of 2,350 lbf (10,440 N), and is reportedly good for woodturning.<ref name="TWD" /> The sapwood is typically cream-coloured and the heartwood can have various streaks of brown and purple.<ref name="TWD" />

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.<ref name="Zhu2020">{{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 |article-number=113465 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2020.113465 |pmid=33049343 |s2cid=222352460 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874120333511|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Compounds isolated from species of ''Syringa'' include phenylpropanoids such as syringin and iridoids such as oleuropein.<ref name="Zhu2020" /> 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.<ref name="Su2015">{{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 }}</ref>

== Symbolism == {{See also|Language of flowers}}

Lilacs are often considered to symbolize first love.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

''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."<ref>{{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}}</ref>

Lilac is significant in the Discworld novel ''Night Watch'' as the impromptu badge for John Keel's side and is noted for being whippy, tough, and difficult to kill.

==Festivals== [[File:Royal Botanical Gardens Lilac Celebration.JPG|thumb|Lilacs showcased in the Lilac Celebration held each May at the Royal Botanical Gardens, 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/lilac_intro.html |title=Lilacs at the Arnold Arboretum |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 |website=The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lanarkcountytourism.ca/franktown-lilac-festival/|title=Franktown Lilac Festival|publisher=Lanark County Tourism|access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> * Calgary, Alberta, Canada, holds an annual one-day Lilac Festival, which is primarily a street festival.

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed"> File:Syringa emodi 002.jpg|''Syringa emodi'' flowers File:Syringa meyeri Palibin.jpg|''S. meyeri'' 'Palibin' File:Syringa microphylla C.jpg|''S. microphylla'' File:Syringa vulgaris Sarah Sands.jpg|''S. vulgaris'' 'Sarah Sands' File:Lilacs 2.jpg|A double-flowered ''S. vulgaris'' cultivar 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' </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

== External links == {{Wiktionary|lilac}} *{{Commons category inline|italic=on}}

Category:Syringa Category:Garden plants Category:Oleaceae genera Category:Shrubs Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus