Common lilac

Large shrub with upright branches. Smooth, stiff, greyish-brown branches. Heart-shaped leaves, pointed at the tip, smooth and light green. Simple flowers grouped in upright panicles, highly fragrant, lilac-coloured in old varieties, blooming in late May to early June. Fruit are long, brown capsules. Suckering roots. Several varieties known as French hybrids are more interesting than the species. These hybrids rarely grow to more than 3 m.