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Philadelphus lewisii Pursh

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Philadelphus lewisii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/philadelphus/philadelphus-lewisii/). Accessed 2024-09-11.

Glossary

apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
entire
With an unbroken margin.
lanceolate
Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Philadelphus lewisii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/philadelphus/philadelphus-lewisii/). Accessed 2024-09-11.

Philadelphus lewisii

Philadelphus lewisii is conspicuous and attractive as a wild plant, but not often cultivated (Wasco Co., OR; 18th June 2022). Image Julian Sutton.

A shrub up to 12 ft high, of graceful, pendulous habit; year-old branches with greyish-brown, non-peeling bark. Leaves broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 11⁄2 to 4 in. long, 1 to 21⁄2 in. wide, coarsely and distinctly toothed or, especially on the flowering twigs, entire, with scattered hairs beneath, still fewer above. Flowers five to nine, in racemes, scentless, white, 11⁄3 in. across; petals oval; calyx smooth outside like the flower-stalk, downy at the margins, and near the apex of the lobes inside; styles divided half-way down.

Native of western N. America from British Columbia to Oregon; introduced about 1823. It is one of the most elegant and floriferous of all the taller species.

Philadelphus lewisii

Philadelphus lewisii is a good choice of Philadelphus for hot dry sites (University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, Vancouver, June 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Philadelphus lewisii

Variable in both leaf and flower, Philadelphus lewisii grows naturally in both open woodland and sunnier situations (Tom McCall Preserve, Wasco Co., OR; 18th June 2022). Image Julian Sutton.

Philadelphus lewisii

Philadelphus lewisii (grown as P. californicus) at Gresgarth Hall, Lancashire (July 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

var. gordonianus (Lindl.) Jeps.

Synonyms
P. gordonianus Lindl

Leaves downy beneath all over the blade. Flowers (at least in Lindley’s type) up to almost 2 in. across. British Columbia to California. A handsome and very hardy variety, introduced by David Douglas in 1825, and described (as a species) from a plant raised from the seeds he sent.P. lewisii is a variable species. The var. gordonianus and others recognised by Dr Hu, intergrade with each other and with the type. The plant described above under P. lewisii does not perfectly match the type of P. lewisii, but neither does it fit into any of the named varieties. The species seems to vary in the fragrance of its flowers.

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