Syringa have a strong fragrance. Flowering varies between mid spring to early summer, depending on the species. The fruit is a dry, brown capsule, splitting in two at maturity to release the two winged seeds. The genus "Syringa" was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus and the description was published in "Species Plantarum". The genus name "Syringa" is derived from Ancient Greek word "syrinx" meaning "pipe" or "tube" and refers to the hollow branches of "S. vulgaris". The English common name "lilac" is from the French "lilac" via the Arabic ليلك ("lilak") from Persian نیلک ("nilak") meaning "bluish". Lilacs
Bartram's Garden facade between 1758–1770. The house still stands, as does his original garden (circa 1728) and greenhouse (1760). Three generations of the Bartram family continued the garden as the premier collection of North American plant species in the world. The current collection contains a wide variety of native and exotic species of herbaceous and woody plants. Most were listed in the Bartrams' 1783 broadside "Catalogue of American Trees, Shrubs and Herbacious Plants" and subsequent editions. The garden also contains three notable trees: Bartram's Garden is the oldest surviving botanic garden in the United States. John Bartram (1699–1777), the well-known early American