Syringa pinnatifolia - Lilac

The Syringa pinnatifolia, a Chinese botanical species of lilac, is a deciduous bush, upright, known for its bark which peels off with age, its dark green foliage, with pinnate leaves, and its early spring flowering in small clusters of fragrant, white flowers, shaded with pale mauve. This Lilac with pinnate leaves displays a superb contrast between the light colour of the flowers and the dark colour of the foliage. 

A rare species, the Syriynga pinnatifolia or lilac with pinnate leaves, is native to the wooded slopes of southwestern China, and belongs to the family of Oleaceae. It forms an upright, airy bush, measuring 1 to 4 m (3 ft 4 in to 13 ft 1 in) high for a width of 2 to 3 m (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in). The bark ecan peel off of old branches. Its characteristic foliage presents deciduous leaves with a long petiole, pinnate, 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) long, composed of 7 to 11 lanceolate leaflets, dark green. Very floriferous, it is adorned, from April to May-June, with small single tubular flowers, fragrant, ivory white shaded with lilac, and gathered in panicles 4 to 7 cm (1.6 to 2.8 in) long. After flowering, small fruits appear in the form of elongated capsules, about one centimetre round, which reach ripeness at the end of summer and beginning of autumn.

This Lilac with pinnate leaves can be used in the garden as a single plant, or in a cluster of bushes or trees, at the edge of the undergrowth, but also included in a country hedge. It will be perfect in company with trees or bushes with early and fragrant flowering such as other Lilacs, a Burkwood Viburnum, an Osmanthus, a Mexican Orange, an Exochorda, or even an early Chimonanthus. For a wild flowering hedge, associate it with a Deutzia, a Weigelia or even Flowering Currants. Planted in a cluster or as a single plant, its early flowering will blend wonderfully with that of spring bulbs. The flowering branches of this Lilac will make wonderful fragrant bouquets.