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Mock Orange · Philadelphus lewisii

Philadelphus lewisii ©Lory Duralia

Description: A deciduous shrub (to 12 ft.). Fragrant white flowers smell of orange blossoms, bloom May to July. Native range includes streamsides and rocky cliffs and slopes from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains, from British Columbia to California and east to Montana and Idaho. Sun/part sun, tolerates aridity but regular water best, well-drained soil.

The Lewis and Clark expedition collected a specimen of mockorange on May 6, 1806, along the Kooskooske (Clearwater) River between Colters Creek and Pine Creek in Idaho. Syringa is now the state flower of Idaho.