''Philadelphus microphyllus'' is a species of '' Philadelphus'' known by the common names littleleaf mock-orange or desert syringa. It is native to

northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua (state), ...

and the southwestern quadrant of the United States as far north as

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, where it grows in scrub and brush habitat in foothills and mountains, often in very rocky areas, sometimes anchoring itself in rock cracks and crevices.

Description

''Philadelphus microphyllus'' is a highly variable plant with many subspecies. In general it is a rounded, spreading

shrub A shrub or 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 trees by their multiple ...

reaching a maximum height around . Young branches are coated in stiff hairs, and older branches have reddish, yellowish, or gray shredding bark. The pointed oval or lance-shaped leaves are up to long, green, and sometimes hairy. They are oppositely arranged and

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a solitary flower or cluster of two or three. The fragrant flower has four or five white or cream petals and a cluster of many stout

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s. The fruit is a hard capsule containing many seeds.

Cultivation

This flowering shrub, ''Philadelphus microphyllus'', is propagated and used as a drought-tolerant

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

in its native range for: traditional

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 ...

natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture. The natural landscape and the cultural landscape are separate parts of the landscape. However, in the 21st century, landscapes that are totally ...

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

, drought tolerant water conserving, and

habitat garden A wildlife garden (or habitat garden or backyard restoration) is an environment created with the purpose to serve as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plan ...

s; and various types of municipal, commercial, and agency sustainable landscape and restoration projects.USDA Fact Sheet
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References

External links

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Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Philadelphus microphyllus''
microphyllus Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of California Flora of New Mexico Flora of Sonora Flora of Texas Flora of Wyoming Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Bird food plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Cornales-stub

Description

Cultivation

See also

References

External links