226 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



obtainable, further mention of them may be omit- 

 ted. 



The Tree Lilacs, of which there are three species 

 all native of northeastern Asia, differ from the true 

 Lilacs in having a short corolla-tube and protruded 

 stamens. They are large shrubs or small trees with 

 large, broad, much-branched clusters of white flowers 

 of unpleasant odor. They blossom when the flowers 

 of the latest of the true Lilacs are fading. The first 

 of these Tree Lilacs to bloom is S. amurensis, from 

 the Amur region of northeastern Asia. This is a 

 small bushy tree with dark green leaves and flat- 

 spreading and slightly drooping clusters of ivory- 

 white flowers. The next to open its flowers is S. 

 pekinensis, native as its name suggests of northern 

 China, and is a large bush or bushy tree from twenty- 

 five to thirty feet high and as much through the 

 crown. The branches are more or less pendent at 



V 



the ends and are clothed with lustrous reddish brown 

 bark which separates into thin layers like that of 

 certain Birch trees. The pointed leaves are long and 

 narrow and hang gracefully and are surmounted by 

 half-drooping flower clusters which are flat and un- 

 symmetrical and smaller than those of the other two 

 species of this group. It was introduced into cultiva- 

 tion by Dr. E. Bretschneider who in 1882 sent seeds 



