SYRINGA 



275 



There is a hybrid of the two species with arching or erect branches, 

 the leaves much like F. viridissima though occasionally 3-lobed or 

 3-bladed, the flowers like F. Pdrtunei, Hybrid Forsythia — Forsythia 

 intermedia. 



A species from Europe with small entire-edged leaves, European For- 

 sythia (475) — Forsythia europsea, — may be in cultivation. 



[Twig cuttings ; seeds.] 



Fig. 474. — Weeping Forsythia. 



Fig. 475. — European Forsythia. 



Syrlnga. The Lilacs are among the most popular groups of hardy 

 shrubs in cultivation. (It is very unfortunate that Linnajus, the father 

 of modern botany, did not leave the name Syringa where it belonged, 

 with what he called Philad^lphus. He it is who gave the name Syringa 

 to the lilacs, although long usage still makes the name cling to the white 

 4-petaled flowers, his Philadelphus. ) The Lilacs came- from Asia, and 

 were introduced into America at about the time of its first settlement by 

 the Whites. There are about a dozen species in cultivation with scores 

 of named varieties, including a number of hybrids. The color-word, 

 lilac, indicates the general color of the "flowers but, by cultivation, all 

 shades and tints of lilac are found, in one direction towards red, in 

 another towards blue, and in a third towards white. There are three 

 species which have so nearly white flowers that they have been called 

 privets, mainly because of this color of blossoms ; the difference between 



