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Philadelphus microphyllus

Common name:	Littleleaf Mock Orange	Family:	Hydrangeaceae
Author:	Gray.	Botanical references:	11, 71, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - Utah and Colorado to California and New Mexico.
Habitat:	Dry rocky places in sunny rocky canyons and piñ on-juniper woodland, 1200 - 3000 metres[71, 184].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. microphyllus ssp. stramineus[B] P. microphyllus ssp. typicus[B] P. microphyllus var. linearis[B] P. microphyllus var. microphyllus[B] P. microphyllus var. minutus[B] P. microphyllus var. ovatus[B] P. stramineus[B]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Little-leaf Mock Orange [B], Littleleaf Mockorange [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	microphyllus = small leaved
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Hydrangea family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1.2m. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower in June. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit[105, 161]. Formerly used as food[257]. No more details are given.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Soap.

The leaves are rich in saponins, when crushed and mixed with water they produce a lather that is an effective cleaner, used on the body, clothes etc[169]. You can wash your hands by merely picking a couple of leaves or a bunch of blossom, wetting your hands and then rubbing the plant material vigorously as if it was a bar of soap[K]. This soap is a very gentle cleaner that does not remove the body's natural oils, but does remove dirt. It is not very effective against oil[K].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in any moderately fertile preferably dry soil[184], succeeding in thin soils over chalk and tolerating poor soils[200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Succeeds in semi-shade but prefers a position in full sun where it will flower more freely[182, 200].
Hardy to about -20° c[184]. Plants grow best in the east and south-east of Britain, they are shy to flower in gardens with cool summers[11]. Plants are very tolerant of pruning, one third of the stems can be cut down to the ground each year in order to promote fresh growth and heavier flowering[202].
A very ornamental plant[1] with aromatic flowers smelling of pineapples[182].

Propagation

Seed - best if given 1 months cold stratification[113]. Sow February in a light position in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm long side-shoots, July/August in a shaded frame. Plant out in spring. High percentage[78].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, 15 - 25cm with a heel, December in a sheltered bed outdoors. Fair to good percentage[78].
Layering in summer. Very easy.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The aromatic flowers smell of ripe pineapples[245].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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