Syringa pubescens Syringa pubescens Syringa pubescens is a species of flowering plant in the lilac genus of the family Oleaceae, native to Korea and China (Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan). Growing to tall and broad, it is a substantial deciduous shrub with green leaves felted white beneath, and panicles of heavily scented, white-throated lilac flowers in early summer. The specific epithet "pubescens" means "downy", referring to the texture of the leaves. Three subspecies (formerly listed as separate species) are recognised: The cultivar "S. pubescens" subsp. "microphylla" 'Superba' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of
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