Syringa microphylla

Also known as Little-leaf Lilac, Small-leaved Lilac

Littleleaf lilacs are dense, mound-forming shrubs celebrated for their clouds of slender, sweetly perfumed tubular flowers. Native to the sunny, rocky slopes and montane thickets of northern and central China, they provide essential nectar to swallowtail butterflies and solitary bees. Unlike their larger broad-leaved relatives, they sport delicate rounded foliage and often produce a welcome second flush of blossoms in late summer.