General Elwell S. Otis

Dunbar, 1906

‘General Elwell S. Otis’, S. vulgaris
Dunbar 1906; D IV
syn. – Dunbar no. 323
{‘Gilbert’ × ?}
McKelvey, The Lilac, 301-302 [1928]; Wister, Lilacs for America, 48 [1942], 30 [1953]; Photo on Jorgovani/Lilacs 2015 DVD.
Named in 1906 for Elwell S. Otis, 1838-1909, American soldier and first US military governor of the Philippines, 1898-1900.
Cultivar name presumed registered 1953; name established and accepted.

Международный регистр названий культиваров
рода Syringa L., сентябрь 2024

General Elwell S. Otis Dunbar, Litt, ined, October 3, 1923, “Flowers semi-double, azure lavender, very dense spikes.”
Produced by John Dunbar of the Dept. of Parks, Rochester, N. Y. In a letter the late Mr. Dunbar informed me that this was a seedling (no. 323 Dunbar) of Gilbert, named by him in 1906.
Notes on plant in Dept. of Parks, Rochester, N. Y. Flowers semi-double to double, extra large; tone intermediate to pale; color in bud Deep Purplish Vinaceous (XLIV.) to Eupatorium Purple (XXXVIII.); when expanded Eupatorium Purple with occasional margins of Laelia Pink (XXXVIII.) without, Bishop’s Purple to Light Lobelia Violet marked with Pale Lobelia Violet (XXXVII.) within. Clusters open, narrow-pyramidal, symmetrically filled.

“THE LILAC: A Monograph” Susan Delano McKelvey, MacMillan, New York, 1928