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
The Hanging Tree (novel) The Hanging Tree (novel) The Hanging Tree is the sixth novel in the Rivers of London series by English author Ben Aaronovitch. The previous book's adventure in Herefordshire left the protagonist Peter Grant deeply involved in a relationship with Beverley Brook, the resourceful young woman who had saved him from captivity by the Faerie Queen. Beverley happens to be the tutelary goddess of Beverley Brook, a small river in South London, and can often be found swimming through its waters; when Peter comes to the bank and calls her name, she might jump naked out of the water, like a