22 
the Caucasus to Afghanistan, was known in England as early as 1658. 
This is a smaller plant than the common Lilac, with slender stems, 
narrower leaves, and smaller but very fragrant flowers. The flowers ' 
are pale lilac color but there is a form with nearly white flowers, and 
one on which the leaves are deeply divided (var. laciniata). The Per- 
sian Lilac blooms usually ten days later than the common Lilac and is 
a beautiful garden plant, but is probably less often cultivated than it 
was a century ago. It is of particular interest, however, as one of 
the parents of the first hybrid Lilac, the other being Syringa vulgaris. 
This hybrid appeared in the Botanic Garden at Rouen, France, early 
in the nineteenth century and through a mistaken idea of its origin was 
named Syringa chinensis. It is sometimes called Syringa rothomagen- 
sis. This hybrid is one of the most valuable of all Lilacs. It grows 
quickly to a large size; it is very hardy and blooms freely every year. 
In shape the leaves resemble those of the Persian Lilac but are 
broader; the flowers, too, recall those of the Persian Lilac, but they 
are larger and are produced in long massive clusters sometimes nearly 
two feet in length, and so heavy that the slender branches do not well 
support them. The flowers are reddish purple but there are forms 
with darker red flowers and with nearly white flowers. 
In a recent issue of The Garden Magazine, Mr. Theodore A. Have- 
meyer describes the development of the modern Lilacs, which, accord- 
ing to him, date from 1843, no mention in his paper being made of 
Syringa chinensis. In 1843 a nurseryman at Liege, in Belgium, pro- 
duced a Lilac with small double flowers. Nothing is said of its parent- 
age, but as it was called Syringa vulgaris jlore plena Liherti, and 
later Syringa vulgaris azurea plena, it was probably a seedling of the 
common Lilac and not a hybrid. This plant is not in the Arboretum 
collection, and if it is known to any reader of this Bulletin the Arbor- 
etum will be glad to hear from him, for although it probably has little 
to recommend it as an ornamental plant this Lilac has historical inter- 
est and for that reason should And a place in the Arboretum collection. 
It was this plant that Lemoine, the French hybridizer, selected as the 
seed-bearing parent in his first attempt to improve the garden Lilacs, 
fertilizing the flowers with pollen of the handsomest varieties of the 
common Lilac of that day and of a Chinese species, Syringa oblata, 
which had been found by Fortune in a Shanghai garden and sent by 
^ him to England nearly sixty years ago. This Chinese Lilac is distin- 
guished from all other Lilacs by the broad, thick, lustrous leaves 
which turn deep wine color in the autumn. The flowers are light lilac 
color, exceptionally fragrant, and are borne in short, compact clusters. 
This is one of the earliest Lilacs to bloom here, but unfortunately the 
flower-buds are often injured or destroyed by late frosts. For this 
reason, although the flowers are not surpassed in color and fragrance 
by those of many Lilacs, this plant cannot be recommended for gen- 
eral cultivation in this part of the country. ' 
The crossing of Syringa oblata and S. vulgaris azurea plena produced 
a plant which has been called Syringa hyacinthifiora. This is a vig- 
orous shapely shrub with leaves the shape of those of its Chinese par- 
