Lilacs are popular in American gardens due to their highly aromatic and beautiful flowers, but are not native to the area. The flowering shrubs and small trees were brought to the continent by European settlers and were featured in the gardens of some of the founding fathers of the United States, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Lilacs are also native to temperate Asia, and many of the most familiar types are originally from that region. Around thirty different plant species are classified as belonging to the lilac genus Syringa, but hundreds of varieties of the plant are recognized.