''Philadelphus'' () (mock-orange) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of about 60 species of

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

s from 3–20 ft (1–6 m) tall, native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and (locally) in southeast

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. They are named "mock-orange" in reference to their flowers, which in wild species look somewhat similar to those of oranges and lemons (''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

'') at first glance, and smell of orange flowers and

jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely culti ...

(''Jasminum''). But ''Philadelphus'' is a basal

asterid In the APG IV system (2016) for the classification of flowering plants, the name asterids denotes a clade (a monophyletic group). Asterids is the largest group of flowering plants, with more than 80,000 species, about a third of the total flo ...

, not closely related to ''Jasminum'' (advanced asterids), and among the

eudicot The eudicots, Eudicotidae, or eudicotyledons are a clade of flowering plants mainly characterized by having two seed leaves upon germination. The term derives from Dicotyledons. Traditionally they were called tricolpates or non-magnoliid dico ...

s quite distant from ''Citrus'' (advanced

rosid The rosids are members of a large clade ( monophyletic group) of flowering plants, containing about 70,000 species, more than a quarter of all angiosperms. The clade is divided into 16 to 20 orders, depending upon circumscription and classifica ...

s). An entirely misleading name for ''Philadelphus'' that is sometimes encountered is ''syringa''; this properly refers to the

lilacs The Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (in Portuguese), acronym LILACS, and previously called Latin American Index Medicus,Piegas MH, Nowinski A. Index Medicus Latino-Americano: exemplo de cooperação técnica entre pa ...

, which are fairly close relatives of jasmine. The connection of the two shrubs lies in their introduction from Ottoman gardens to European ones, effected at the same time by the Holy Roman emperor's ambassador to the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The name ...

, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, who returned to Vienna in 1562. The two shrubs appear together in

John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, c. 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular gar ...

's ''Herball'', as "Blew Pipe" (the lilac) and "White Pipe Tree", for the woods of both are pithy and easily hollowed out. ''Philadelphus'' is named after an ancient Greek king of Egypt,

Ptolemy II Philadelphus ; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208 , predecessor = Ptolemy I , successor = Ptolemy III , horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth , nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength , gold ...

Description and ecology

Most are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

but a few species from the south of the genus' range are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are opposite, simple, with serrated margins, from 0.5-6 inches (1–14 cm) long. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s are white, with four petals and sepals, 0.5-2 inches (1–4 cm) diameter, and commonly (but not in all species) sweetly scented. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

is a small capsule, containing numerous small

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s. The

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, e ...

is thin and flaky, finely shredding in longitudinal strips. Mock-oranges are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...

species including

the engrailed The engrailed and small engrailed (''Ectropis crepuscularia'') are moths of the family Geometridae found from the British Isles through central and eastern Europe to the Russian Far East and Kazakhstan. The western Mediterranean and Asia Minor ...

(''Ectropis crepuscularia''). A noted

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a g ...

of the sweet mock-orange (''P. coronarius'') is the undescribed

proteobacterium Pseudomonadota (synonym Proteobacteria) is a major phylum of Gram-negative bacteria. The renaming of phyla in 2021 remains controversial among microbiologists, many of whom continue to use the earlier names of long standing in the literature. The ...

called "'' Pseudomonas tomato''" ( pv. ''philadelphi'').

Cultivation

For a long time, ''

Philadelphus coronarius ''Philadelphus coronarius'' (sweet mock orange, English dogwood) is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to Southern Europe. Description It is a deciduous shrub growing to tall by wide, with toothed leaves and ...

'' was the only mock-orange of gardens, though some adventurous Americans grew the native '' P. inodorus'' that

Mark Catesby Mark Catesby (24 March 1683 – 23 December 1749) was an English naturalist who studied the flora and fauna of the New World. Between 1729 and 1747 Catesby published his ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'', the fi ...

had discovered growing on the banks of the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the nor ...

. It appeared in Lady Skipwith's garden lists and

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

ordered some from Bartram in 1792. Mock-oranges are popular shrubs in

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

s and

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s, grown for their reliable display of late spring flowers; the scented species are particularly valued. In addition to the species, there are numerous garden origin hybrids and

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s available, selected for doubleness and large flowers, with some compromise as to scent.

AGM cultivars

The following hybrid cultivars have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

:- *’Aureus’ (''P. coronarius'') *'Beauclerk' *'Belle Étoile' *’Innocence’ *'Manteau d'Hermine' *'Sybille' *’Variegatus’ (''P. coronarius'')

In culture

Lewis' mock-orange (''P. lewisii'') is the state flower of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

Selected species

Asia

* '' Philadelphus brachybotrys'' (southeast

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

) * '' Philadelphus delavayi'' – Delavay's mock-orange (southwest China) * '' Philadelphus incanus'' (

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

) * '' Philadelphus kansuensis'' – Chinese evergreen mock-orange (northwest China) * '' Philadelphus laxiflorus'' (

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...

, Hubei, Shaanxi) * '' Philadelphus laxus'' Schrad. ex DC. – Japanese mock-orange (Japan; formerly ''P. satsumi'' * '' Philadelphus purpurascens'' (southwest China) * '' Philadelphus satsumanus'' – Downy Japanese mock-orange (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

) * '' Philadelphus schrenkii'' – Korean mock-orange (northeast China, Korea, southeast Russia) * '' Philadelphus sericanthus'' (Sichuan, Hubei) * '' Philadelphus pekinensis'' – Beijing mock-orange (northern China) * '' Philadelphus subcanus'' (southwest China) * '' Philadelphus tenuifolius'' – Slenderleaf mock-orange (

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

, southeast

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

) * '' Philadelphus tomentosus'' – Fuzzy mock-orange (

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

) * '' Philadelphus triflorus'' – Himalayan mock-orange (Himalaya)

Europe

* '' Philadelphus caucasicus'' – Caucasus mock-orange (

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

) – likely syn. of ''P. coronarius'' * ''

'' – Sweet mock-orange, English Dogwood (southeast Europe)

North America

Pancontinental hybrids

* '' Philadelphus × lemoinei'' (horticultural hybrid) * ''

Philadelphus × purpureomaculatus ''Philadelphus'' × ''purpureomaculatus'' is a flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, of garden origin. It is a hybrid between '' Philadelphus × lemoinei'' and '' P. mexicanus'' 'Rose Syringa'. Growing to tall by broad, it is a decidu ...

'' (horticultural hybrid) * '' Philadelphus × virginalis'' (horticultural hybrid)

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q107394 Cornales genera Flora of North America