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Lilacs (White and Mauve)Botanical Name: Syringa vulgarisFamily: N.O. Oleaceae Synonym: Common Lilac. Parts Used: Leaves, fruit. Habitat: Persia, mountainous regions of Eastern Europe.
Description: A shrub or small tree up to 20 feet in height producing a crowd of erect stems, occasionally a trunk over 2 feet in girth, clothed with spirally arranged flakes of bark. Shoots and leaves smooth, leaves heart-shape or ovate, 2 to 6 inches long, from 3/4 to almost as much wide near the base; stalk 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch long. Panicles pyramidal, 6 to 8 inches long, usually in pairs from the terminal buds, flowers fragrant; corolla tube 1/3 to 1/2 inch long; lobes concave; calyx and flower-stalks have gland tipped down; seed vessels smooth, 5/8 inch long, beaked. Introduced to Britain during time of Henry VIII, mentioned in an inventory taken at Norwich by Oliver Cromwell. Syringa Baccifera is a synonym of Mitchella repens or Partridge Berry and must not be confused with S. vulgaris. Medicinal Action and Uses: Used as a vermifuge in America and as a tonic anti-periodic and febrifuge; may be used as a substitute for aloes and in the treatment of malaria.
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