SYBINGA 



LILAC AND OLIVE OBDEB 



SYEINGA 639 



small shining smooth ovate lanee-shaped 

 leaves, slightly aoiTte at the base and 

 pointed at the apex. Flowers in May 

 and June, salver-shaped, intense violet. 



Among its varieties may be men- 

 tioned alba, with almost pure white 

 flowers ; metensis, with pale lilac flowers ; 

 rubra, with very fine rosy-red flowers ; 

 and saugeana, with sweetly scented rosy- 

 lilac ones. 



Culture do. as above. 



S. Emodi. — A beautiful Himalayan 



shrub about 6 ft. high, with broadly 



elliptic or ovate leaves 3-4 in. long, on 



stalks i-i in. long. Flowers in April, 



purplish or white, strongly scented, in 



dense panicles or clusters, the corolla 



having a rather long tube. The variety 



variegata has yellow-blotched leaves, 



and rosea or villosa differs from the type 



in having hairy instead of smooth foliage. 



Culture dc. as above. 



S. japonica. — A handsome Japanese 



Lilac. Closely related -to S. a/murensis, 



but distinguished from that species by its 



taller stature (in Japan it reaches a height 



of 30 ft.) and by the more pointed lobes of 



the coroUa. The leaves are broadly ovate 



and of a deep shining green on the upper 



surface. .The white slightly scented 



flowers appear in Jime and July, and are 



borne in large branched panicles a foot or 



more in length. 



Culture do. as above. 

 S. Josikaea. — A distinct Hungarian 

 shrub 5- 10 ft. high. Leaves smooth, 

 elliptic lance-shaped, acute, wrinkled, 

 slightly ciliate, deep shining green above, 

 whitish beneath, on short stalks. Flowers 

 in May, bluish-purple, with a slightly 

 concave corolla limb, and borne in erect 

 panicles at the ends of the shoots. 

 Culture dc. as above. 

 S. oblata. — A Chinese shrub readily 

 distinguished by its large, rather fleshy, 

 roundish heart-shaped leaves 1^-3 in. 

 across. Flowers in May, purple, produced 

 in great abundance. There is a white- 

 flowered variety, alba, which is very 

 rarely seen. 



Culture dc. as above. 



S. pekinensis {Ligustrlna jielilnensis). 

 A bushy shrub or small tree from N. 

 China, having slender, velvety, dark_ red 

 branches, and opposite, ovate -elliptic 

 leaves, with blackish-purple stalks and 

 midribs. Flowers in early summer, white, 



borne in dense panicles. The variety 

 pendula is distinguished by its drooping 

 or ' weeping ' habit. 



Culture dc. as above. 



S. per sic a {Persian Lilac). — A 

 handsome shrub 4-7 ft. high, native of 

 Afghanistan and but rarely found wild 

 in Persia. It has smooth, shining, lance- 

 shaped acute leaves 1-li in. long. 

 Flowers in May and June, bluish-purple, 

 or white as in the variety alba. The 

 variety laciniata has almost all the leaves 

 deeply cut into 3-5 or more narrow 

 oblong lobes. 



Culture dc. as above. 



S. villosa. — A native of N. China 3-6 

 ft. high, having ovate or ovate elliptic 

 bluntish leaves, smooth above, hairy on 

 the principal nerves beneath. Flowers 

 in May, bluish-purple or rosy-lUac, 

 sweet - scented, with a slender corolla - tube 

 and oblong reflexed lobes. 



Culture dc. as above. 



S. vulgaris. — This is the common 

 ' Lilac ' or ' Pipe tree.' It is a native of 

 North Persia, and was first brought to 

 Vienna, in the latter half of the sixteenth 

 century, by the Flemish diplomatist 

 Busbecq. From Vienna it soon spread 

 aU over Europe, and is now also largely 

 cultivated in N. America. It grows from 

 8 to 20 ft. high, and has smooth, heart- 

 shaped or ovate-cordate leaves, broader 

 than those of S. persioa. Flowers in 

 May, lUac, purple, or white as in the 

 variety alba, and borne in large conical 

 trusses. 



There are many flue varieties of the 

 Common Lilac, with single and double 

 flowers. Among the single-flowered 

 varieties may be mentioned, alba grandi- 

 flora, alba magna, alba virginalis, Marie 

 Legrange, all excellent whites, especially 

 the last named. Among the single 

 coloured varieties are E. Lemoine, La 

 Tour d'Auvergne, Leon Simon, Sou/oenir 

 de L. Spdth (the deepest coloured 

 variety with dark and brilliant crimson- 

 purple flowers), Virginite (pale pink), 

 Charles X., Louis Van Houtte, Dr. 

 Lindley, Delpliine (reddish-violet), Phile- 

 inon &c. 



The double-flowering kinds include 

 AVpJionse LamalUe, Le Oaulois, Le- 

 vioinei, Mathieu de Dombasle, Miohel 

 Buchner, Banunculiflora, Benoncule, 

 Bubella, Madame Lemoine, and Presi- 

 dent Grevy-*--a.'il coloured except Madame 



