mock oranges
Philadelphus
Philadelphus () (mock-orange) is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs from 3–20 ft (1–6 m) tall, native to North America, Central America, Asia and (locally) in southeast Europe.
They are named "mock-orange" in reference to their flowers, which in wild species look somewhat similar to those of oranges and lemons (Citrus) at first glance, and smell of orange flowers and jasmine (Jasminum). But Philadelphus is a basal asterid, not closely related to Jasminum (advanced asterids), and among the eudicots quite distant from Citrus (advanced rosids). An entirely misleading name for Philadelphus that is sometimes encountered is syringa; this properly refers to the lilacs, 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, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, who returned to Vienna in 1562. The two shrubs appear together in John Gerard's Herball, as "Blew Pipe" (the lilac) and "White Pipe Tree", for the woods of both are pithy and easily hollowed out.
49 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Sweet Mock Orange
speciesPhiladelphus coronarius
Lewis' mock orange
speciesPhiladelphus lewisii
Scentless Mock Orange
speciesPhiladelphus inodorus
littleleaf mock orange
speciesPhiladelphus microphyllus
Slender-leaf mock orange
speciesPhiladelphus tenuifolius
Caucasus mock orange
speciesPhiladelphus caucasicus
Texas Mock Orange
speciesPhiladelphus texensis
Hoary Mock Orange
speciesPhiladelphus pubescens
Mexican mock orange
speciesPhiladelphus mexicanus
Philadelphus pekinensis
speciesPhiladelphus pekinensis
hairy mock-orange
speciesPhiladelphus hirsutus
Double Mock-orange
hybridPhiladelphus × virginalis
Philadelphus schrenkii
speciesPhiladelphus schrenkii
Philadelphus incanus
speciesPhiladelphus incanus
Philadelphus satsumi
speciesPhiladelphus satsumi
Downy Mock-orange
speciesPhiladelphus tomentosus
Philadelphus zhejiangensis
speciesPhiladelphus zhejiangensis
Philadelphus × lemoinei
hybridPhiladelphus × lemoinei
Philadelphus sericanthus
speciesPhiladelphus sericanthus
Hairy Mock-orange
speciesPhiladelphus subcanus
Philadelphus delavayi
speciesPhiladelphus delavayi
Philadelphus serpyllifolius
speciesPhiladelphus serpyllifolius
Philadelphus intectus
speciesPhiladelphus intectus
Philadelphus mearnsii
speciesPhiladelphus mearnsii
Philadelphus calvescens
speciesPhiladelphus calvescens
Philadelphus karwinskyanus
speciesPhiladelphus karwinskyanus
Philadelphus coulteri
speciesPhiladelphus coulteri
Philadelphus calcicola
speciesPhiladelphus calcicola
Philadelphus falconeri
speciesPhiladelphus falconeri
Philadelphus kunmingensis
speciesPhiladelphus kunmingensis
Philadelphus brachybotrys
speciesPhiladelphus brachybotrys
Philadelphus maculatus
speciesPhiladelphus maculatus
Philadelphus henryi
speciesPhiladelphus henryi
Philadelphus laxiflorus
speciesPhiladelphus laxiflorus
Philadelphus purpurascens
speciesPhiladelphus purpurascens
Philadelphus pringlei
speciesPhiladelphus pringlei
Philadelphus dasycalyx
speciesPhiladelphus dasycalyx
Philadelphus pueblanus
speciesPhiladelphus pueblanus
Philadelphus affinis
speciesPhiladelphus affinis
Philadelphus kansuensis
speciesPhiladelphus kansuensis
Philadelphus caudatus
speciesPhiladelphus caudatus
Philadelphus asperifolius
speciesPhiladelphus asperifolius
Philadelphus myrtoides
speciesPhiladelphus myrtoides
Philadelphus sargentianus
speciesPhiladelphus sargentianus
Philadelphus tsianschanensis
speciesPhiladelphus tsianschanensis
Philadelphus tetragonus
speciesPhiladelphus tetragonus
Philadelphus reevesianus
speciesPhiladelphus reevesianus
Philadelphus lushuiensis
speciesPhiladelphus lushuiensis
Philadelphus palmeri
speciesPhiladelphus palmeri
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the old herbals & bestiaries
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Philadelphus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 52470.