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| − | {{redirect|Lilac}}
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| | |name = Common lilac | | |name = Common lilac |
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| − | '''''Syringa vulgaris''''' ('''lilac''' or '''common lilac''') is a [[species]] of [[flowering plant]] in the olive [[family (biology)|family]] Oleaceae, [[native plant|native]] to the [[Balkan Peninsula]], where it grows on rocky hills.<ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins {{ISBN|0-00-220013-9}}.</ref><ref name=mc>Med-Checklist: [http://ww2.bgbm.org/mcl/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=15581&PTRefFK=1276 ''Syringa vulgaris'']</ref><ref name=fe>Flora Europaea: [http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Syringa&SPECIES_XREF=vulgaris&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= ''Syringa vulgaris'']</ref> This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental and has been naturalized in other parts of Europe (including the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Germany]], and [[Italy]]), as well as much of [[North America]]. It is not regarded as an aggressive species, found in the wild in widely scattered sites, usually in the vicinity of past or present human habitations.<ref>[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Syringa%20vulgaris.png Biota of North America Program, ''Syringa vulgaris'']</ref><ref>[http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=syringa+vulgaris Altervista Flora Italiana, ''Syringa vulgaris'']</ref><ref>[http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/lilac.html Illinois wildflowers, common lilac, ''Syringa vulgaris'']</ref>
| + | [[Category:Oleaceae]] |
| − | | + | [[Category:Plants for Keenan to eat]] |
| − | ==Description==
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| − | ''Syringa vulgaris'' is a large [[deciduous]] [[shrub]] or multistemmed small [[tree]], growing to {{convert|6|-|7|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} high, producing secondary shoots ("suckers") from the base or roots, with stem diameters up to {{convert|20|cm|0|abbr=on}}, which in the course of decades may produce a small clonal thicket.<ref>In second-growth woodlands of New England, a thicket of lilac may be the first indication of the cellar-hole of a vanished 19th-century timber-framed farmhouse.</ref> The [[Bark (botany)|bark]] is grey to grey-brown, smooth on young stems, longitudinally furrowed, and flaking on older stems. The [[leaf|leaves]] are simple, {{convert|4|-|12|cm|0|abbr=on}} and 3–8 cm broad, light green to glaucous, oval to cordate, with pinnate leaf venation, a mucronate [[Meristem|apex]], and an entire margin. They are arranged in opposite pairs or occasionally in [[Whorl (botany)|whorls]] of three. The [[flower]]s have a tubular base to the [[Corolla (flower)|corolla]] 6–10 mm long with an open four-lobed apex 5–8 mm across, usually [[lilac (color)|lilac]] to [[mauve]], occasionally white. They are arranged in dense, terminal [[panicles]] {{convert|8|-|18|cm|0|abbr=on}} long. The [[fruit]] is a dry, smooth, brown [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]], 1–2 cm long, splitting in two to release the two-winged [[seed]]s.<ref name=rushforth/><ref name=blamey>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. {{ISBN|0-340-40170-2}}.</ref>
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| − | ==Taxonomy and naming==
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| − | ''Syringa vulgaris'' was first formally described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1753 and the description was published in ''[[Species Plantarum]]''.<ref name=IPNI>{{IPNI | id = 289009-2 | accessdate = 27 December 2015}}</ref><ref name=Linnaeus>{{cite book|last1=Linnaeus|first1=Carl|title=Species Plantarum|date=1753|publisher=Laurentii Salvii|location=Stockholm|page=9|edition=1|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358012#page/21/mode/1up|accessdate=27 December 2015}}</ref> The [[Botanical name|specific epithet]] (''vulgaris'') is a [[Latin]] word meaning "common" or "usual".<ref name="RWB">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page = 222}}</ref>
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| − | ==Garden history==
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| − | [[Lilacs]]—both ''S. vulgaris'' and [[Syringa × persica|''S.'' × ''persica'']] the finer, smaller "Persian lilac", now considered a natural hybrid—were introduced into northern European gardens at the end of the 16th century, from [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] gardens, not through botanists exploring the Balkan habitats of ''S. vulgaris''.<ref>The botanic homeland of ''S. vulgaris'' was identified in 1828, when naturalist [[Anton Rocher]] found truly wild specimens in Balkans .</ref> The Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador, [[Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq]], is generally credited with supplying lilac slips to [[Carolus Clusius]], about 1562. Well-connected botanists, such as the great herbalist [[John Gerard]], soon had the rarity in their gardens: Gerard noted that he had lilacs growing “in very great plenty” in 1597, but lilacs were not mentioned by Shakespeare,<ref>Their first appearance by name in English print the ''[[OED]]'' dated to 1625.</ref> and [[John Claudius Loudon|John Loudon]] was of the opinion that the Persian lilac had been introduced into English gardens by [[John Tradescant the elder]].<ref>Loudon, ''Arboretum'' (1838:49), noted in R.T. Gunther, ''Early British Botanists and their Gardens'' (Oxford: Frederick Hall) 1922:339.</ref> Tradescant's Continental source for information on the lilac, and perhaps ultimately for the plants, was [[Pietro Andrea Mattioli]], as one can tell from a unique copy of Tradescant's plant list in his Lambeth garden, an adjunct of his ''[[Musaeum Tradescantianum]]''; it was printed, though probably not published, in 1634: it lists ''Lilac Matthioli''. That Tradescant's "lilac of Mattioli's" was a white one is shown by [[Elias Ashmole]]'s manuscript list, ''Trees found in Mrs Tredescants Ground when it came into my possession'' (1662):<ref>Written in the endpapers of his copy of [[John Parkinson (botanist)|John Parkinson]]'s ''Paradisus'', in the [[Bodleian Library]]; printed in Gunther 1922:346</ref> "Syringa alba".
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| − | In the American colonies, lilacs were introduced in the 18th century. [[Peter Collinson FRS|Peter Collinson, F.R.S.]], wrote to the Pennsylvania gardener and botanist [[John Bartram]], proposing to send him some, and remarked that [[John Custis]] of Virginia had a fine "collection", which Ann Leighton interpreted as signifying common and Persian lilacs, in both purple and white, "the entire range of lilacs possible" at the time.<ref>Ann Leighton, ''American Gardens in the Eighteenth Century'' (University of Massachusetts Press) 1986:445</ref>
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| − | ==Cultivation==
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| − | 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.<ref name=RHSAZ>{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=1405332964|pages=1136}}</ref>
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| − | In late summer, lilacs can be attacked by [[powdery mildew]], specifically ''Erysiphe syringae'', one of the [[Erysiphaceae]].<ref>B. Ing, "An Introduction to British Powdery Mildews", in ''The Mycologist'' '''5'''.1 (1990:24–27).</ref> No fall color is seen and the seed clusters have no aesthetic appeal.
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| − | Common lilac tends to flower profusely in alternate years, a habit that can be improved by [[Deadheading (flowers)|deadheading]] the flower clusters after the color has faded and before seeds, few of which are fertile, form. At the same time, twiggy growth on shoots that have flowered more than once or twice can be cut to a strong, outward-growing side shoot.
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| − | It is widely [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] in western and northern Europe.<ref name=blamey/> In a sign of its complete naturalization in North America, it has been selected as the [[list of U.S. state flowers|state flower]] of the state of [[New Hampshire]], because it "is symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State".<ref>New Hampshire Revised Statute Annotated (RSA) 3:5</ref> Additional hardiness, for Canadian gardens, was bred for in a series of ''S. vulgaris'' hybrids by Isabella Preston, who introduced many of the later-blooming varieties, whose later-developing flower buds are better protected from late spring frosts; the ''Syringa × prestoniae'' hybrids range primarily in the pink and lavender shades.<ref>[http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/pp/lilac.php Chicago Botanic Garden]</ref>
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| − | ===Cultivars===
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| − | Most garden plants of ''S. vulgaris'' are [[cultivar]]s, the majority of which do not exceed {{convert|4|-|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall.<ref name=rhs>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan {{ISBN|0-333-47494-5}}.</ref> Between 1876 and 1927, the nurseryman [[Victor Lemoine]] of Nancy introduced over 153 named cultivars, many of which are considered classics and still in commerce today. Lemoine's "French lilacs" extended the limited color range to include deeper, more saturated hues, and they also introduced double-flowered "sports", with the stamens replaced by extra petals.
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| − | These cultivars have gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]]:
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| − | {|
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| − | *'Andenken an Ludwig Späth'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Syringa vulgaris'' 'Andenken an Ludwig Späth'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=6123|accessdate=17 July 2013}}</ref>
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| − | *'Firmament'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Syringa vulgaris'' 'Firmament'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=5321|accessdate=17 July 2013}}</ref>
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| − | *'Katherine Havemeyer'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Syringa vulgaris'' 'Katherine Havemeyer'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1899|accessdate=17 July 2013}}</ref>
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| − | *'Madame Lemoine'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Syringa vulgaris'' 'Madame Lemoine'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1900|accessdate=17 July 2013}}</ref>
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| − | *'Vestale'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Syringa vulgaris'' 'Vestale'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=5436|accessdate=17 July 2013}}</ref>
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| − | ==Gallery==
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| − | <gallery mode=packed>
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| − | Image:Syringa.vulgaris(01).jpg|Flowers and heart-shaped leaves
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| − | Image:VulgarisAlba1bbUME.jpg|''S. vulgaris'' 'Alba'
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| − | Image:Syr.vulg.Charles Joly.jpg|''S. vulgaris'' 'Charles Joly'
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| − | Image:SyringaVulgarisCorondel1a.UME.jpg|''S. vulgaris'' 'Corondel'
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| − | Image:SyringaVulgarisEtna2b.UME.jpg|''S. vulgaris'' 'Etna'
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| − | Image:SyringaVulgarisMmeFrancisqueMorel1UME.jpg|''S. vulgaris'' 'Mme. Francisque Morel'
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| − | Image:SyringaVulgarisMarechalFock1a.UME.jpg|''S. vulgaris'' 'Maréchal Foch'{{Citation needed|date=April 2012}}
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| − | Image:Syringa vulgaris wood 1.jpg|Wood of ''Syringa''
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| − | Image:Fasciated Lilac.JPG|[[Fasciation]]
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| − | </gallery>
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| − | ==References==
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| − | {{Reflist|30em}}
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | {{Commons|Syringa vulgaris}}
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| − | *{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Lilac |short=x}}
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| − | {{wiktionary}}
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| − | {{Taxonbar|from=Q6565319}}
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Europe]] | |
| − | [[Category:Garden plants]]
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| − | [[Category:Medicinal plants]]
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| − | [[Category:Plants described in 1753]] | |
| − | [[Category:Plants used in bonsai]]
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| − | [[Category:Syringa|vulgaris]]
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