Syringa vulgaris
Oleaceae
April to June
It is found throughout the country.
See the BSBI distribution map for Lilac
It is a neophyte which has been planted in the UK since
the 1590s and escaped into the wild by the 1870s.
It is widely planted in gardens and parks.
It is naturalised in hedges, along railways and roads,
on waste ground and as a relic of old gardens and
brownfield sites.
Lilac is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up
to 7m.
Flowering spikes are up to 20cm.
Flowers have 4 petals spreading out from a corolla
tube.
They range in colour from white to deep purple.
There are 2 stamens with white or yellow anthers inside
the top of the corolla tube.
The style with a 2-lobed, white stigma is at the base of
the tube.
The fruit is a capsule.
Leaves are dark-green, oval and pointed.
Spread is mainly by suckering.
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White Lilac
White flower spike
Corolla tube
Corolla tube peeled back to show 2 anthers
at the top and a 2-lobed stigma at the base
Close-up of style and 2-lobed stigma
Capsules
Close-up of capsule
Lilac flower spike
Corolla tube peeled back to show an upper
anther and the bilobed stigma
Purple flower spike
Purple corolla tube
Oval, pointed leaves
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