Philadelphus lewisii
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Philadelphus lewisii Pursh |
Philadelphus lewisii (Lewis's Mock-orange) is a deciduous shrub which is native to the western United States, from northwestern California in the Sierra Nevada, north to Washington in the Cascade Range, and east to Idaho and Montana. It is widespread but not terribly common, usually appearing as an individual plant amongst other species. It was discovered by Meriwether Lewis in 1804.
The shrub is rounded and generally a maximum of two meters in height. It sends out long stems which are red when new and fade to gray with age, the bark shredding. The leaves vary in size across individual plants but they are usually oval, smooth along the edges, and light green in color. The shrub becomes quite showy in flower, bearing clusters of inch-wide white flowers at the ends of long stems. At the height of flowering, the plant is covered in a mass of blossoms. The flowers have a heavy, sweet scent similar to orange blossoms with a hint of pineapple. The fruit is a small hard capsule with woody, pointed wings, containing many brown seeds.
Native American tribes used P. lewisii for numerous purposes. The hard wood was useful for making hunting and fishing tools, snowshoes, pipes, and furniture. The leaves and bark, which contain saponins, were mixed in water for use as a mild soap.
Other names include "wild mock-orange" (though this applies to any species in the genus), and "Syringa", a confusing name as it usually refers to the unrelated lilacs.
[edit] Cultivation
Lewis's Mock-orange prefers full sun to partial sun. It is drought-tolerant and will grow in poor soils, and provides a landscape with flashy flowers and a fruity scent.
Wild mock-orange is the state flower of Idaho.
[edit] External links
- Jepson treatment
- USDA Plants Profile: Philadelphus lewisii
- Idaho Statutes: State Flower
- Ethnobotany of P. lewisii
[edit] References
Casebeer, M. (2004). Discover California Shrubs. Sonora, California: Hooker Press. ISBN 0-9665463-1-8
