Assembly of Fragrances, Volume 36

original: Qunfang Juan zhi sanshiliu. The Qunfang Pu is a monumental Ming Dynasty botanical encyclopedia by Wang Xiangjin.

Lilac

Dingxianghua; Syringa
The name Dingxiang literally translates to "nail fragrance," so named because the flower buds resemble small Chinese nails and possess a piercing, sweet scent reminiscent of cloves.

[A woodblock illustration appears here depicting a Lilac branch with dense clusters of four-petaled flowers and ovate-lanceolate leaves.]