Syringa x chinensis

Scientific name: Syringa x chinensis

Author: Carl Ludwig von Willdenow 1765-1812

Common name: Varin's Lilac, Rouen Lilac, Chinese Lilac

Family: Oleaceae

Location

The top of the Brunet Meadow, sunny and well-drained, is home to our lilac collection. Here, with many companions, you may find this week’s  featured plant Syringa X chinensis also known as Varin's Lilac, Rouen Lilac and Chinese Lilac.

Syringa X chinensis is the result of a cross between Syringa laciniata the Cut Leaf Persian Lilac from Kansu, western China and Syringa vulgaris, the Common Lilac from mountainous regions of eastern and south-eastern Europe. Examples of both are growing nearby.  

The Botanic Garden at Rouen in France with Director Varin in-charge and the late 1700s, were the place and time of the original occurrence of this ‘natural hybrid’. It was named through a mistaken belief that it came from China.  Many cultivars are available from this hybrid.