Common Lilac

The Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is a deciduous plant in the olive family (Oleaceae), native to the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe, where it grows in the wild on rocky hills.

It is a large shrub or small tree, growing 6-7 m high. The smooth bark is grey to grey-brown. The shrubs are multi-stemmed, producing secondary shoots from the base or roots.

The leaves are simple, light green to glaucous, oval to cordate, with pinnate leaf venation, a mucronate apex and an entire margin, reaching a length of 5-10 cm. They are arranged opposite pairs or occasionally in whorls of three.

The four-petaled flowers are cup-shaped with a four-lobed corolla, usually lilac to mauve. They are arranged in a dense, terminal panicle 8-18 cm long. The fruit is a dry, smooth brown capsule, about 1 cm long.

Cultivation
Common Lilac is a very common ornamental plant in gardens and parks, because of the attractive, sweet smell of its flowers. Most garden plants are cultivars with flowers varying in color from white to dark lilac. The majority of garden cultivars do not exceed 4-5 m tall.

Syringa vulgaris is the 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" (New Hampshire Revised Statute Annotated (RSA) 3:5).