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Botanical Name: Syringa vulgaris
Family: N.O. Oleaceae
Synonym: Common Lilac.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales
Genus: Syringa
Species: S. vulgaris

Parts Used:  Leaves, fruit.
Habitat:Native to the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe, where it grows on rocky hills E. Europe. Occasionally naturalized in Britain. Scrub on rocky hill slopes in Europe. Found in hedges, thickets and shrubberies in Britain Persia, mountainous regions of Eastern Europe.

Description:A decidious shrub or small tree up to 20 feet in height producing a crowd of erect stems, occasionally a trunk over 2 feet in girth, clothed with spirally arranged flakes of bark. Shoots and leaves smooth, leaves heart-shape or ovate, 2 to 6 inches long, from 3/4 to almost as much wide near the base; stalk 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch long. Panicles pyramidal, 6 to 8 inches long, usually in pairs from the terminal buds, flowers fragrant; corolla tube 1/3 to 1/2 inch long; lobes concave; calyx and flower-stalks have gland tipped down; seed vessels smooth, 5/8 inch long, beaked.
Introduced to Britain during time of Henry VIII, mentioned in an inventory taken at Norwich by Oliver Cromwell.  Fresh  flowers are very aromatic.
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The plant produces  secondary shoots (“suckers”) with stem diameters of up to 20 cm from the base or roots, which in the course of decades may produce a small clonal thicket. The bark is grey to grey-brown, smooth on young stems, longitudinally furrowed and flaking on older stems. The leaves are simple, 4–12 cm long and 3–8 cm broad, light green to glaucous, oval to cordate, with pinnate leaf venation, a mucronate apex and an entire margin. They are arranged in opposite pairs or occasionally in whorls of three. The flowers have a tubular base to the corolla 6–10 mm long with an open four-lobed apex 5–8 mm across, usually lilac to mauve, occasionally white. They are arranged in a dense, terminal panicle 8-18 cm long. The fruit is a dry, smooth brown capsule, 1–2 cm long, splitting in two to release the two winged seeds.

Syringa Baccifera is a synonym of Mitchella repens or Partridge Berry and must not be confused with S. vulgaris.

Cultivation:
Succeeds in most soils, including chalk, but dislikes acid soils. Prefers a deep stiff well-drained loam in a warm sunny position. A very ornamental plant, it does tend to sucker quite freely though. There are many named varieties, developed for their ornamental value. The flowers attract butterflies and moths. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.

Propagation
Seed – sow March in a north facing cold frame. Pre-treating the seed with 4 weeks warm then 3 weeks cold stratification improves germination. It is probable that sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame would be a more reliable method. Prick the seedlings out into individual pots once they are large enough to handle. Plant them out in the summer if sufficient growth has been made, otherwise grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter and plant out in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of young shoots, 7cm with a heel, June in a frame[200]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Layering in spring before new growth begins. Takes 12 months. Division of suckers in late winter. They can be planted straight out into their permanent positions.

Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Flowers.

Flowers – raw or folded into batter and fried to make fritters

Medicinal Action and Uses:Antiperiodic; Febrifuge; Mouthwash; Tonic; Vermifuge.

The leaves and the fruit are antiperiodic, febrifuge, tonic and vermifuge. The bark or leaves have been chewed by children as a treatment for sore mouth.Used as a vermifuge in America and as a tonic anti-periodic and febrifuge; may be used as a substitute for aloes and in the treatment of malaria.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Other Uses
Dye; Essential; Hedge; Rootstock.

An essential oil is obtained from the flowers. Used in perfumery . A green dye is obtained from the flowers. Green and brown dyes can be obtained from the leaves[168]. A yellow-orange dye is obtained from the twigs[168]. Plants can be grown as an informal hedge. The plant is often used as a rootstock for the various ornamental cultivars of lilac. Its main disadvantage is that it can sucker very freely

Resources:

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/lilacs20.html

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Syringa+vulgaris

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringa_vulgaris

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