All Topics  
Lilac

 
Lilac

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Lilac
 
 
  Topics Lilac Topic Home

"Lilac" redirects here. For the color, see Lilac (color)
Lilac (color)

Lilac is a color that is a pale shade of Violet . It might also be described as light purple. The actual color of the flower of some Lilac flowers is a much deeper color, equivalent to the color shown below as deep lilac....
.
The unrelated Chinaberry (Melia azedarach) and mock-orange
Mock-orange

Mock-orange is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs from 1 to 6 m tall, native to North America, Central America, Asia and in southeast Europe....
s (Philadelphus) are sometimes called "lilac" too.


Syringa (Lilac) is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the olive family (Oleaceae
Oleaceae

The Oleaceae, or olive family, is a plant family containing 24 extant genus and around 600 species of mesophytic shrubs, trees and occasionally vines....
), native to Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
.

They are deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s or small tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s, ranging in size from 2–10 m tall, with stems up to 20–30 cm diameter.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Lilac'
Start a new discussion about 'Lilac'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


"Lilac" redirects here. For the color, see Lilac (color)
Lilac (color)

Lilac is a color that is a pale shade of Violet . It might also be described as light purple. The actual color of the flower of some Lilac flowers is a much deeper color, equivalent to the color shown below as deep lilac....
.
The unrelated Chinaberry (Melia azedarach) and mock-orange
Mock-orange

Mock-orange is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs from 1 to 6 m tall, native to North America, Central America, Asia and in southeast Europe....
s (Philadelphus) are sometimes called "lilac" too.


Syringa (Lilac) is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the olive family (Oleaceae
Oleaceae

The Oleaceae, or olive family, is a plant family containing 24 extant genus and around 600 species of mesophytic shrubs, trees and occasionally vines....
), native to Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
.

They are deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s or small tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s, ranging in size from 2–10 m tall, with stems up to 20–30 cm diameter. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are opposite (occasionally in whorls of three) in arrangement
Phyllotaxis

In botany, phyllotaxis or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of the leaf on the plant stem of a plant....
, and their shape
Leaf shape

In botany, the following terms are used to describe the shape of plant leaf:* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
 is simple and heart-shaped to broad lanceolate in most species, but pinnate
Pinnate

Pinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna for "feather"....
 in a few species (e.g. S. protolaciniata, S. pinnatifolia). The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are produced in spring, each flower being 5–10 mm in diameter with a four-lobed corolla, the corolla tube narrow, 5–20 mm long; they are asexual
Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes Morphology aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with fertile stamen
Stamen

The stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs, called sporangium....
s and stigma
Gynoecium

A gynoecium is the female reproductive part of a flower. The male counterpart is called an androecium. A gynoecium is composed of one or more pistils....
 in each flower. The usual flower colour is a shade of purple (often a light purple or lilac
Lilac (color)

Lilac is a color that is a pale shade of Violet . It might also be described as light purple. The actual color of the flower of some Lilac flowers is a much deeper color, equivalent to the color shown below as deep lilac....
), but white and pale pink are also found. The flowers grow in large panicle
Panicle

A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched Indeterminate growth inflorescence with Pedicel flowers attached along the secondary branches ....
s, and in several species have a strong fragrance. Flowering varies between mid spring to early summer, depending on the species. The fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 is a dry, brown capsule
Capsule (fruit)

In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a dehiscent structure composed of two or more carpels, that, at maturity, split apart to release the seeds within....
, splitting in two at maturity to release the two winged seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s.

The genus is most closely related to Ligustrum (privet), classified with it in Oleaceae tribus Oleeae subtribus Ligustrinae.

Lilacs are used as food plants by the larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
 species including Copper Underwing
Copper Underwing

The Copper Underwing is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed across the Palaearctic region.This species has a wingspan of 47-54 mm, the female usually slightly larger than the male....
, Scalloped Oak
Scalloped Oak

The Scalloped Oak is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common European species.This is a distinctive species, usually with yellow forewings with a broad orange-brown band and a pointed apex....
 and Svensson's Copper Underwing
Svensson's Copper Underwing

Svensson's Copper Underwing is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.This species has a wingspan of 47-56 mm, the female usually larger than the male....
.

Species

  • Syringa afghanica
  • Syringa emodi - Himalayan Lilac
  • Syringa josikaea
    Syringa josikaea

    Syringa josikaea is a species of Lilac, native to central and eastern Europe, in the Carpathian Mountains in Hungary, Romania, and western Ukraine....
  • Syringa komarowii
    Syringa komarowii

    Syringa komarowii is a species of lilac native to central China, commonly called Nodding Lilac.It is a shrub growing to 3-6 m tall, with erect branches....
     (syn. S. reflexa)
  • Syringa mairei
  • Syringa microphylla
  • Syringa meyeri
  • Syringa oblata
  • Syringa pinetorum
  • Syringa pinnatifolia
  • Syringa protolaciniata
  • Syringa pubescens
  • Syringa pubescens subsp. julianae (syn. S. julianae)
  • Syringa pubescens subsp. microphylla (syn. S. microphylla)
  • Syringa pubescens subsp. patula (syn. S. patula)
  • Syringa reticulata
    Syringa reticulata

    Syringa reticulata is a species of Lilac, native to eastern Asia, in northern Japan , northern China, Korea, and far southeastern Russia....
     (syn. S. pekinensis) - Japanese Tree Lilac
  • Syringa spontanea
  • Syringa sweginzowii
  • Syringa tibetica
  • Syringa tomentella
  • Syringa villosa
  • Syringa vulgaris - Common Lilac
  • Syringa wardii
  • Syringa wolfii
  • Syringa yunnanensis - Yunnan Lilac
 Hybrids
  • Syringa × diversifolia (S. oblata × S. pinnatifolia)
  • Syringa × henryi (S. josikaea × S. villosa)
  • Syringa × hyacinthiflora (S. oblata × S. vulgaris)
  • Syringa × josiflexa (S. josikaea × S. komarowii)
  • Syringa × lacinoata (S. protolaciniata × S. vulgaris)
  • Syringa × persica
    Syringa × persica

    It is a hybrid of syringa laciniata and S. afghanica. It's common name is the Persian Lilac. It grows to a height and spread of about 6ft and prefers warmer winter climates....
     (S. protolaciniata × unknown)
  • Syringa × prestoniae (S. komarowii × S. villosa)
  • Syringa × swegiflexa (S. komarowii × S. sweginzowii)
Sources:

Cultivation and uses

Lilac (2)
Lilacs are popular shrubs in park
Park

A park is a Environmental protection, in its natural or semi-natural state or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment....
s and garden
Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials....
s throughout the temperate zone. In addition to the species listed above, several hybrids and numerous cultivar
Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
s have been developed. The term French lilac is often used to refer to modern double-flowered
Double-flowered

"'Double-flowered'" describes varieties of flowers with extra petals, often containing flowers within flowers. The double-flowered trait is often noted alongside the scientific name with the abbreviation fl....
 cultivars, thanks to the work of prolific breeder Victor Lemoine
Victor Lemoine

Victor Lemoine was a celebrated and prolific France flower breeder who, among other accomplishments, created many of today's lilac varieties....
.

Lilac
Lilacs 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; a pruned lilac often produces few or no flowers for one to five or more years, before the new growth matures sufficiently to start flowering. Unpruned lilacs flower reliably every year. Despite this, a common fallacy holds that lilacs should be pruned regularly. If pruning is required, it should be done right after flowering is finished, before next year's flower buds are formed. Lilacs generally grow better in slightly alkaline soil.

Lilac bushes can be prone to powdery mildew disease, which is caused by poor air circulation.

The wood of lilac is close-grained, diffuse-porous, extremely hard and one of the densest in Europe. The sapwood is typically cream-coloured and the heartwood has various shades of brown and purple. Lilac wood has traditionally been used for engraving, musical instruments, knife handles etc. When drying, the wood has a tendency to be encurved as a twisted material, and to split into narrow sticks. The wood of Common Lilac is even harder than for example that of Syringa josikaea.

Etymology

The genus name Syringa is derived from syrinx
Syrinx

In classical mythology, Syrinx was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous Greek god Pan , she ran to the river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs....
 meaning a hollow tube or pipe, and refers to the broad pith
Pith

Pith is a light substance that is found in vascular plants. It consists of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, and is located in the center of the Plant stem....
 in the shoots in some species, easily hollowed out to make reed pipe
Reed pipe

A reed pipe is an organ pipe that is sounded by a vibrating brass strip known as a Reed . Air under pressure is directed towards the reed, which vibrates at a specific pitch ....
s and flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
s in early history.

A pale purple colour is generally known as lilac
Lilac (color)

Lilac is a color that is a pale shade of Violet . It might also be described as light purple. The actual color of the flower of some Lilac flowers is a much deeper color, equivalent to the color shown below as deep lilac....
 after the flower.

Symbolism

Purple lilacs symbolize death and white lilacs first love (see Language of flowers
Language of flowers

The language of flowers, sometimes called floriography, was a Victorian era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken....
). In Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
, and Cyprus
Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is an island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece, west of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, south of Turkey and north of Egypt....
, the lilac is strongly associated with Easter
Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
time because it flowers around that time; it is consequently called pascha
Pascha

Pascha may refer to:*Easter, specifically in Orthodox Christian traditions*Paskha an Easter dish served in several Slavic countries*Passover, a Latinized spelling of the Hebrew word Pesah...
lia.

Syringa vulgaris is the state flower
List of U.S. state flowers

This is a list of U.S. state flowers:See also*List of U.S. state trees*Lists of U.S. state insigniaReferences *...
 of New Hampshire
New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States of America. The state was named after the southern English Counties of England of 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).

"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" is a poem written by Walt Whitman as a elegy to Abraham Lincoln.

Festivals

Numerous locations around North America hold yearly Lilac Festival
Lilac Festival

The Lilac Festival is an art, music, food and flora festival hosted annually in early May in the Highland Park, Rochester, New York in Rochester, New York, New York State....
s, the longest-running of which is the one in Rochester, New York. Rochester's Lilac Festival held at Highland Park has the most varieties of lilacs at any single place, and many of the lilacs were developed in Rochester.

Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island is an island covering in land area, belonging to the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Lower Peninsula of Michigan....
, in Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, celebrates a weeklong lilac festival and Lilac Parade each June.

Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington

Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. Spokane is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, as well as the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region....
, is known as the "Lilac City", and also holds an annual lilac festival and lilac parade.

Lombard, Illinois
Lombard, Illinois

Lombard, "The Lilac Village", is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County, Illinois, Illinois. The population was 42,322 at the 2000 census. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population in 2004 to be 42,975....
 is called the "Lilac Village" and has an annual lilac festival and parade in May. The village also contains Lilacia Park
Lilacia Park

Lilacia Park, an garden, is located at 150 South Park Avenue, Lombard, Illinois. It specializes in lilacs and tulips. It is open to the public daily....
, a garden with over 200 varieties of lilacs and over 50 kinds of tulips.

External links