«I saw this plant in flower for the first time on July 9, 1908 on the frontiers of eastern Tibet at an altitude of nine thousand feet, and I thought then that I had never before seen such a handsome species of lilacs. It had foot high, broad panicles of pink- to rosy-lilac colored flowers and on other bushes they were white. The plants were eight to fifteen feet high, much branched yet compact in habit and the wealth of flower clusters made it conspicuous from afar», skriver E. H. Wilson i sin bok Aristocrats of the garden. Plantesamleren Wilsons beretninger fra China er forøvrig ren kulturhistorie, og spennende dertil.
Hundre år etter blomstrer Syringa tomentella – filtsyrin – i hagen min. Den var stikling for tre år siden og ser ut til å bli en høy og smalvokst syrin med små blad og et særdeles elegant preg. Dufter søtt.