United States / Grow / Mexican Mock Orange

Mexican Mock Orange (Choisya ternata)
Photo: (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Mexican Mock Orange

Choisya ternata · Rutaceae · also called Mexican orange blossom · Wikipedia

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Form
shrub
Region
New Zealand
Rated in
Australian Capital Territory, Australia; Global; New Zealand
Uses
ornamental
On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence
Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Placement evidence
1 source placement record; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions
Australian Capital Territory, Australia; Global; New Zealand

2. Why this plant is relevant here

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Recommends (2)

Corroboration (1 rows from 1 source)
  • Canberra Plant Selector — fire-retardant attribute — ACT Government / Everyday Climate Choices · live tool capture 2026-08-25 · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: act-fire-retardant-plants-canberra

    “Fire Retardant — Yes — Choisya ternata”

    The live Canberra Plant Selector marks “Choisya ternata” as “Fire Retardant: Yes.”

Listed without a rating (4)
Corroboration (4 rows from 1 source)
  • FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

    4 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.

    • Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.

      Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND.

      • “ignition frequency (%): 100”

        FLAMITS record 1357; Ignitability measurement.

      • “maximum sample temperature (°C): 446.5”

        FLAMITS record 1551; Combustibility measurement.

      • “burning duration (s): 5.7”

        FLAMITS record 1745; Sustainability measurement.

      • “estimated burnt biomass (%): 15.8”

        FLAMITS record 1939; Consumability measurement.

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia ·

Choisya ternata (Mexican orange blossom). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/choisya-ternata/. Last verified 2026-08-23.