Syringa vulgaris Syringa vulgaris Syringa vulgaris (lilac or common lilac) is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula, where it grows on rocky hills. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental and has been naturalized in other parts of Europe (including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy), as well as much of North America. It is not regarded as an aggressive species, found in the wild in widely scattered sites, usually in the vicinity of past or present human habitations. "Syringa vulgaris" is a large deciduous shrub or multistemmed small tree, growing
Chemical garden Chemical garden A chemical garden is an experiment in chemistry usually performed by adding metal salts such as copper sulfate or cobalt(II) chloride to an aqueous solution of sodium silicate (otherwise known as waterglass). This results in growth of plant-like forms in minutes to hours. The chemical garden was first observed and described by Johann Rudolf Glauber in 1646. In its original form, the chemical garden involved the introduction of ferrous chloride (FeCl) crystals into a solution of potassium silicate (KSiO). The chemical garden relies on most transition metal silicates being insoluble in water and coloured. A metal salt such