Syringa vulgaris four-lobed apex 5–8 mm across, usually lilac to mauve, occasionally white. They are arranged in dense, terminal panicles long. The fruit is a dry, smooth, brown capsule, 1–2 cm long, splitting in two to release the two-winged seeds. "Syringa vulgaris" was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and the description was published in "Species Plantarum". The specific epithet ("vulgaris") is a Latin word meaning "common" or "usual". Lilacs—both "S. vulgaris" and "S." × "persica" the finer, smaller "Persian lilac", now considered a natural hybrid—were introduced into northern European gardens at the end of the 16th century, from Ottoman
Flowering Orchards an intensity through their pairing. Mancoff says of flowering trees and this work, "In his flowering trees, Vincent attained a sense of spontaneity, freeing himself from the strict self-analytical approach he took in Paris. In "Almond Tree in Blossom," Vincent used the light, broken strokes of impressionism and the dabs of colour of divisionism for a sparkling surface effect. The distinctive contours of the tree and its position in the foreground recall the formal qualities of Japanese prints." The southern region and the flowering trees seems to have awakened Van Gogh from his doldrums into a state of clear direction,