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
Syringa vulgaris that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State". Additional hardiness, for Canadian gardens, was bred for in a series of "S. vulgaris" hybrids by Isabella Preston, who introduced many of the later-blooming varieties, whose later-developing flower buds are better protected from late spring frosts; the "Syringa × prestoniae" hybrids range primarily in the pink and lavender shades. Most garden plants of "S. vulgaris" are cultivars, the majority of which do not exceed tall. Between 1876 and 1927, the nurseryman Victor Lemoine of Nancy introduced over 153 named cultivars, many of which are considered classics and still