Scientific name: Syringa oblata Lindl.

Family: Oleaceae

Common name: Early blooming lilac, Broadleaf lilac

This shrub blooms in April and, because it can reach more than 5 meters in height, it can sometimes be considered a small tree. It has multiple trunks and arching branches. It is native to China and Korea, where it is easy to find in forests, thickets or along rivers and roads. In La Concepción it is next to the lake in the southern part of the garden.

The leaves of this lilac are ovate in shape, flexible, with an entire margin, a heart-shaped base and a sharply pointed apex. In autumn they acquire a reddish color before falling, it is a deciduous plant, which spends the winter without leaves, then sprout during the month of April at the same time as the flowers. These have a sweet aroma, are grouped in erect inflorescences, up to 20 centimeters. They can be white or different intensities of lilac. It flowers earlier than another more common species of lilac, Syringa vulgaris, so it is known as the Early blooming lilac.

The name of this genus derives from the Greek syrinx, which translates as tube, referring to the fact that the young branches are hollow; in fact, they have been used as flutes. The species word is Latin and alludes to its oval leaf. It is mainly used as an ornamental, both as an isolated specimen and for hedges or borders. It likes a sunny situation and a rich, moist, but well-drained soil.