Syringa reticulata Syringa reticulata Syringa reticulata (Japanese tree lilac; ; ) is a species of Lilac, native to eastern Asia: in northern Japan (mainly Hokkaidō), northern China (Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan), Korea, and far southeastern Russia (Primorye). "Syringa reticulata" is a deciduous small tree growing to a height of 39' (12 m), rarely to 49' (15 m), with a trunk up to 11.8" (30 cm), rarely 15.7" (40 cm) diameter; it is the largest species of lilac, and the only one that regularly makes a small tree rather than a shrub. The leaves are
Prunus padus and spring display of fragrant, white flowers. The common name Mayday tree is not related to the distress signal mayday as the name for the tree was in use prior to the adoption of mayday as an international distress signal. A taboo on the use of the wood was reported by natives of Advie, in northeast Scotland, being regarded as a "witches tree". Prunus padus Prunus padus, known as bird cherry, hackberry, hagberry, or Mayday tree, is a flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is a species of cherry, a deciduous small tree or large shrub up to