Syringa Syringa Syringa (lilac) is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family (Oleaceae), native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere. The genus is most closely related to "Ligustrum" (privet), classified with it in Oleaceae tribus Oleeae subtribus Ligustrinae. Lilacs are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including copper underwing, scalloped oak and Svensson's copper underwing. They are small trees, ranging in size from tall, with stems up to diameter. The leaves are opposite (occasionally in
Philadelphus × purpureomaculatus Philadelphus × purpureomaculatus Philadelphus" × "purpureomaculatus is a flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, of garden origin. It is a hybrid between "P." × "lemoinei" and "P. mexicanus" 'Rose Syringa'. Growing to tall by broad, it is a deciduous shrub with broadly oval leaves up to long, and single, cup-shaped flowers in summer (June in the Northern Hemisphere). The flowers, which are strongly fragrant, are pure white with prominent purple markings near the centre; hence the Latin specific epithet "purpureomaculatus", literally "purple spotted". Valued in the garden as a summer-flowering shrub, the cultivar 'Sybille' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's