An upright, multi-stemmed, suckering shrub reaching 12 to 16 feet in height. It produces very fragrant, tubular, 4-lobed, lilac to purple flowers borne in large conical panicles which may be 6 to 8inches in length.

Hedgerows, railway verges and waste ground. It is often found as an escape from cultivation, but can readily become established and persist in the wild.

Flowering late April and May.

Deciduous shrub.

Widespread and fairly frequent in Britain.

Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 34 of the 617 tetrads.