What is "syringa vulgaris"

Lilac \Li"lac\ (l[imac]"lak), n. [Also lilach.] [Sp. lilac, lila, Ar. l[=i]lak, fr. Per. l[=i]laj, l[=i]lanj, l[=i]lang, n[=i]laj, n[=i]l, the indigo plant, or from the kindred l[=i]lak bluish, the flowers being named from the color. Cf. Anil.]

1. (Bot.) A shrub of the genus Syringa. There are six species, natives of Europe and Asia. Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, and Syringa Persica, the Persian lilac, are frequently cultivated for the fragrance and beauty of their purplish or white flowers. In the British colonies various other shrubs have this name.

2. A light purplish color like that of the flower of the purplish lilac.

   California lilac (Bot.), a low shrub with dense clusters of purplish flowers ( Ceanothus thyrsiflorus).

Syringa vulgaris (lilac or common lilac) is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula, where it grows on rocky hills. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental and has been naturalized in other parts of Europe ( UK, France, Germany, Italy, etc.), as well as much of North America. It is not regarded as an aggressive species, found in the wild in widely scattered sites, usually in the vicinity of past or present human habitations.