紫丁香 (原亚种) zi ding xiang (yuan ya zhong)

Syringa giraldii Lemoine; S. oblata var. alba Rehder; S. oblata var. giraldii (Lemoine) Rehder; S. oblata var. hupehensis Pampanini; S. vulgaris Linnaeus var. oblata (Lindley) Franchet.

Shrubs or small trees to 5 m. Leaf blade ovate-orbicular to reniform, 2.5-10(-14) × 2.5-8(-15) cm, base truncate to usually subcordate, apex abruptly acute to acuminate. Panicles congested or lax, 4-16(-20) × 3-7(-10) cm. Calyx ca. 3 mm. Corolla purple or sometimes white; tube 0.6-1.4 cm; lobes ovate-orbicular to obovate-orbicular, 4-6 mm. Anthers inserted 0-4 mm from the corolla mouth. Capsule 1-1.5(-2) cm. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Jun-Oct. 2n = 46*.

* Woods, thickets on slopes, valleys, along streams or roadsides; 300-2600 m. Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, NW Sichuan

Widely cultivated in several other provinces.

White-flowered plants, which are cultivated in provinces north of the Chang Jiang, have been recognized as cultivar alba.