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Pictured: Syringa reticulata — the species. This subspecies isn’t separately illustrated.
Oleaceae family

Japanese Tree Lilac (subsp. reticulata) Syringa reticulata subsp. reticulata subspecies

Japanese Tree Lilac (subsp. reticulata) is an introduced perennial tree, found in the lower 48 states.

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 6 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Tree layer (canopy / understory) — Sits in the tree of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~40 caterpillar species

Syringa supports ~40 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a strong genus for introduced plants — native genera typically support far more.

Recorded feeding on Syringa in North America, including:

Acronicta oblinita · Smeared Dagger Moth Amphipyra pyramidoides · Copper Underwing Archips rosana · Rose Tortrix Automeris io · giant silk moth Cacoecimorpha pronubana · Carnation Tortix Callosamia angulifera · Tulip-Tree Silkmoth
+ 8 more species →
Callosamia promethea · Promethea Moth Caloptilia cuculipennella · leaf-blotch miner moth Caloptilia syringella · leaf-blotch miner moth Ceratomia undulosa · Waved Sphinx Choristoneura rosaceana · Oblique-Banded Leafroller Citheronia regalis · Regal Moth Ennomos magnaria · Maple Spanworm Eupackardia calleta · Calleta Silkmoth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (10) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — US-RIIS v2.0 (USGS)
[06] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[07] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[08] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[09] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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