Syringa reticulata, the Japanese tree lilac, is a species of flowering plant in the family Oleaceae. It is native to eastern Asia, and is grown as an ornamental in Europe and North America.
It is a deciduous small tree growing to a height of , rarely to , with a trunk up to , rarely in diameter; it is the largest species of lilac, and the only one that regularly makes a small tree rather than a shrub. The leaves are elliptic-acute, long and broad, with an entire margin, and a roughish texture with slightly impressed veins. The flowers are white or creamy-white, the corolla with a tubular base 0.16âÂÂ0.24" (4âÂÂ6 mm) long and a four-lobed apex 0.12âÂÂ0.24" (3âÂÂ6 mm) across, and a strong fragrance; they are produced in broad panicles long and broad in early summer. The fruit is a dry, smooth, brown capsule (15âÂÂ25 mm long), splitting in two to release the two winged seeds.
Syringa reticulata is found in northern Japan (mainly Hokkaidà Â), northern China (Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan), Korea, and far southeastern Russia (Primorye).
The Latin specific epithet reticulata means "netted".
There are three subspecies: