E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Philadelphus lewisii Pursh
mock-orange (Lewis' mock orange)
Hydrangeaceae (Hydrangea family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Philadelphus lewisii
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Deciduous shrub, erect, loosely branched, 1.5-3 m tall; bark reddish-brown, turning grey and flaking off in patches; twigs glabrous to hairy.

Leaves:
Opposite, short-stalked, widely egg-shaped to rounded, 3-5 cm long, margins entire to toothed, flat with 3 major veins from the leaf base, slightly sand-papery to touch.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of 3-15 flowers in a raceme; petals 4, white, 5-20 mm long, oblong; calyces top-shaped or bell-shaped, 4-6 mm long, 4-lobed, the lobes egg-shaped, 5-6 mm long; stamens yellow, numerous, unequal.

Fruits:
Capsules, 4-chambered, woody, 1 cm long; seeds many, spindle-shaped, brown, 2.5-3 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
White

Blooming Period:
Late Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall

Source: The USDA

Habitat / Range

Moist to dry talus slopes, shrublands, streamsides and open forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent in S BC; E to SW AB and S to MT, ID and N CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Philadelphus lewisii

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	1	640	1540
Slope Gradient (%)	0	39	170
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	1	196	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	0	2	7
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	C
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	415
Modal BEC Zone Class	IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	BG(18), CDF(29), ESSF(1), ICH(123), IDF(156), MS(4), PP(73)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Ecological Indicator Information

A shade-intolerant. submontane to subalpine, North American deciduous shrub distributed more in the Cordilleran than the Pacific region. Occurs in continental cool temperate and cool semiarid climates on moderately dry to fresh, nitrogen-medium soils; its occurrence increases with increasing temperature and continentality and decreases with increasing elevation. Scattered in open-canopy Douglas-fir forests; in the coast-interior ecotone more frequent on water-shedding sites than water-receiving sites. Characteristic of dry continental forests.

Source: Indicator Plants of Coastal British Columbia (Information applies to coastal locations only)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is cool temperate & cool semiarid.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Philadelphus gordonianus Lindl.
Philadelphus lewisii subsp. gordonianus (Lindl.) Munz
Philadelphus lewisii var. angustifolius (Rydb.) Hu
Philadelphus lewisii var. ellipticus Hu
Philadelphus lewisii var. gordonianus (Lindl.) Jeps.
Philadelphus lewisii var. helleri (Rydb.) Hu
Philadelphus lewisii var. intermedius (A. Nelson) Hu
Philadelphus lewisii var. oblongifolius Hu
Philadelphus lewisii var. parvifolius Hu
Philadelphus lewisii var. platyphyllus (Rydb.) Hu

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-12-30 8:29:59 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.