Buddleja japonica

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Scrophulariaceae
Tribus: Buddlejeae
Genus: Buddleja
Sectio: Buddleja sect. Alternifoliae
Species: Buddleja japonica
Name

Buddleja japonica Hemsl.
References

F. B. Forbes & W. B. Hemsley, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 26:119. 1889
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Buddleja japonica in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Buddleja japonica is a deciduous shrub native to Honshu and Shikoku, Japan, where it grows on mountain slopes amid scrub.[1] The shrub was named and described by Hemsley in 1889, and introduced to Western cultivation in 1896.[2]

Description

Buddleja japonica grows to < 1.5 m in height in the wild, open in habit and sparsely branched. The branches are tetragonous and winged. The leaves are narrowly lanceolate, < 20 cm long by < 5 cm wide, the upper surface dark green and glabrous, the underside tawny felted. The flowers form dense, drooping terminal panicles < 20 cm long, usually pale lilac in colour, from July to October. Overall, the species is considered of little horticultural merit and is also comparatively short-lived.[3] Ploidy: 2n = 38.[4]
Cultivation

In the UK a specimen is grown as part of the NCCPG national buddleja collection at Longstock Park Nursery, near Stockbridge, Hampshire. Hardiness: USDA zones 8–9.[2]
Varieties

Buddleja japonica var. insignis (Carr.) E. H. Wilson. A plant with a denser habit and more brightly coloured flowers.[3] In the absence of any living specimens or preserved material, the plant was considered probably a hybrid of B. japonica and B. lindleyana by Leeuwenberg [5]

References

Phillips, R., & Rix, M. (1989). Shrubs. p. 211. Pan Books Ltd., London. ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Stuart, D. (2006). Buddlejas. RHS Plant Collector Guide. Timber Press, Oregon, USA. ISBN 978-0-88192-688-0
Bean, W. J. (1914). Trees and shrubs hardy in the British Isles, Vol. 1. p. 323. 7th Ed. 1950. Murray, London.
Chen, G, Sun, W-B, & Sun, H. (2007). Ploidy variation in Buddleja L. (Buddlejaceae) in the Sino - Himalayan region and its biogeographical implications. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 2007, 154, 305 – 312. The Linnean Society of London.
Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979). The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species. H. Veenman & Zonen, Wageningen, Nederland.