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P. INODOROUS, also from North America , differs little in size and shape of flowers from P. grandiflorus, but the flowers are without scent. The leaves, too, are quite glabrous and obscurely toothed. P. LEMOINEI BOULE D'ARGENT is a cross, raised in 1888, from P. Lemoinei and the double-flowered form of P. coronarius.
More than 400 varieties have been named, comprising some of the most highly prized of all garden kinds. Lemoine introduced in 1878 his justly celebrated hybrids between Gandavensis and G. purpureo-auratus, known as Lemoinei. The Nanceianus strain, crosses between Lemoinei and G. Saundersii, was introduced in 1889. Childsii, originated by Max Leichtlin, Germany, was first disseminated in 1893.
The first of this group, S. vulgaris Lemoinei, was sent out about 1884, and was then awarded a certificate by the R.H.S. The range in colouring of these Lilacs is rather confined, so that the various forms resemble one another in no small degree, particularly when the flowers are opened under glass.
Its flowers are quite different from those of Gandavensis or Lemoinei, being larger than either, very wide, and marked with peculiar mottlings, or fine, short, parallel strokes of some contrasting color.
The flowers are double white and with the pleasant, but not heavy, scent of P. microphyllus. P. Lemoinei Gerbe de Neige bears pleasantly-scented flowers that are as large as those of the well-known P. speciosissimus. There is an erect form of P. Lemoinei named erectus that is also worthy of note.
The only just criticism of this strain is that some kinds lack substance of petal and are not as lasting as Gandavensis varieties under similar trying conditions. Lemoine soon afterwards produced a fine large flowered and brilliantly colored race by crossing Lemoinei hybrids with Saundersii.
" Emile Lemoine, mauve-pink, suffused with white; very handsome. " La Tour d'Auvergne, mauve shaded with rose. A beautiful and very dark coloured form. " Lemoinei, nearly resembling our common species, but with full double flowers. " Leon Simon, light pink, mauve shaded. " Madame Lemoine, the finest form, bearing very large pure white double flowers. " Michael Buchner, rosy lilac.
Some years after the introduction of the Gandavensis, Victor Lemoine, of Nancy, France, brought out a new hybrid to which he gave his own name, Lemoinei. It has a slender, graceful stem, which seems unable to take up water rapidly, and consequently only a few of its flowers open at once. These are smaller than those of the Gandavensis, and more arched in form.
Some of the richest coloring in the floral kingdom is found among the Lemoinei varieties, now wonderfully developed by consistent breeding. The hooded form of purpureo-auratus blooms, however, is often retained, and the stems usually have the wiry texture of the species rendering the development of the flowers, after cutting, less perfect than the Gandavensis.
It was not until 1878 that Victor Lemoine, Nancy, France, produced, by crossing the finest Gandavensis varieties with G. purpureo-auratus, an important race now widely known as Lemoinei, that possessed the rich and intense shades of red, purple, and yellow so ardently desired by fanciers.
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