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Syringa vulgaris
Also called Lilac, Purple Lilac
Common lilac is a large deciduous shrub or small multi-stemmed tree, grown for its sweet-smelling lilac to mauve flower panicles in early summer. It needs full sun and a cold winter to flower well.
Syringa vulgaris, the lilac or common lilac, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family, Oleaceae. Native to the Balkan Peninsula, it is widely cultivated for its scented flowers in Europe (particularly the north and west) and North America.
The lilac is a very popular ornamental plant in gardens and parks because of its attractive, sweet-smelling flowers, which appear in early summer just before many of the roses and other summer flowers come into bloom.
In late summer, lilacs can be attacked by powdery mildew, specifically Erysiphe syringae, one of the Erysiphaceae. No fall color is seen, and the seed clusters have no aesthetic appeal.
The species is native to the southern Balkan Peninsula, where it occurs in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and bordering regions, chiefly south of the Danube. It grows on rocky hills. Grown in spring for its scented flowers, the large shrub or small tree is widely cultivated and has been naturalized in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. It is not regarded as an aggressive species. It is found in the wild in widely scattered sites, usually in the vicinity of past or present human habitations.
The flowers of common lilac are edible and used for flavoring honeys, sugars, food and other sweets.
Hungarian Lilac · Nodding Lilac · Syringa reticulata subsp. pekinensis · Syringa pinnatifolia · Daphne Lilac · Japanese tree lilac · Villous lilac · Lilac
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Syringa vulgaris by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
