Philadelphus microphyllus
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Philadelphus microphyllus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Common Names
- Small-Leaf Mock Orange
Infraspecifics
Other taxa in genus
- Philadelphus coronarius
- Philadelphus delavayi
- Philadelphus × falconeri
- Philadelphus hirsutus
- Philadelphus incanus
- Philadelphus inodorus
- Philadelphus lewisii
- Philadelphus mexicanus
- Philadelphus pekinensis
- Philadelphus pubescens
- Philadelphus purpurascens
- Philadelphus satsumi
- Philadelphus schrenkii
- Philadelphus sericanthus
- Philadelphus subcanus
- Philadelphus: The Hybrids
- Philadelphus tomentosus
Editorial Note
A difficult species, with some authorities recognising up to a dozen discrete taxa within Philadelphus microphyllus as treated by Flora of North America (2025).
A deciduous shrub of densely bushy, rounded habit, ultimately about 4 ft high; branchlets slender but rigid, downy; bark shining brown the first year, peeling and almost black the second. Leaves ovate, pointed, not toothed, 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in. long, 1⁄4 to 1⁄3 in. wide, bright green and almost glabrous above, grey and covered with pale, appressed hairs beneath; stalk 1⁄16 in. long. Flowers very fragrant, pure white, about 1 in. across; produced in June, usually singly, at the end of lateral branches 1 to 2 in. long, which spring from the joints of the previous year’s shoots.
Native of Colorado, Arizona, etc.; introduced by Prof. Sargent to Britain about 1883. It is quite distinct from all other cultivated species of philadelphus in its small entire leaves and low, compact habit. The leaves on wild plants are much more hairy than with us. The flowers have a strong pineapple-like odour, very pleasant in the open air. Coming from such a hot and sunny climate, it succeeds best in eastern and south-eastern England and tends to be shy-flowering, though quite hardy, in cool gardens.
var. argyrocalyx (Wooton) Henrickson
Synonyms
Philadelphus ellipticus Rydb.
Philadelphus argyrocalyx Wooton
A deciduous shrub of graceful spreading habit 6 to 8 ft high; young shoots slender, downy, pinkish at first, becoming black-brown the second year. Leaves ovate, up to 2 in. long by 1 in. wide on the virgin shoots, smaller and narrower on the flowering ones, not toothed, pointed, tapered at the base, glabrous above, hairy on the midrib and veins and paler beneath, three-veined; stalk 1⁄8 in. or less long, downy. Flowers solitary or in threes, terminating leafy twigs 1 to 2 in. long, white, 11⁄4 in. wide. Calyx-tube hemispherical, the four lobes ovate, about 1⁄4 in. long, covered with silvery-grey down; petals obovate; anthers greenish; styles united, stigmas free; ovary quite glabrous.
Native of New Mexico; discovered in 1892, introduced in 1922. It is very pretty in bloom, the flowers showing in two rows on the upper side of the previous year’s (usually arching or drooping) shoots. Flowering in late June and July, being perfectly hardy and of a convenient size, it deserves to be more widely planted.
This charming philadelphus is related to P. microphyllus and the flowers have a similar fruity fragrance, but that species has a nearly glabrous calyx whilst in this it is silvery grey with down; P. argyrocalyx has also larger flowers and a more vigorous growth.