These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere.

[3][4][5][10] The English common name "lilac" is from the French lilac[10][13][14] via the Arabic: لِيلَك, romanized: līlak from Persian: ليلنج, romanized: lilanj meaning the indigo plant[15] or نیلک nilak meaning "bluish";[13] both lilanj and nilak come from Persian نیل nīl "indigo" or نیلي nili "dark blue".

[16][17] The genus name Syringa is derived from Ancient Greek word syrinx meaning "pipe" or "tube" and refers to the hollow branches of S.

If pruned, the plant responds by producing fast-growing young vegetative growth with no flowers, in an attempt to restore the removed branches.

[21] Species have been historically used in various traditional medicines in Asia for treating ailments including cough, diarrhea, acute icteric hepatitis, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bronchitis.

[22] Substituent compounds, such as iridoids, as well as crude extracts from Syringa plants have been shown to have to have effects including antitumor, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antifungal activities in pharmacological studies.

The music-hall song by Ivor Novello, We'll Gather Lilacs, first performed in 1945, speaks of the longing of two lovers to be reunited in a traditional English rural setting.