| Buddleja asiatica | |
|---|---|
| Buddleja asiatica | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Buddleja |
| Species: | B. asiatica |
| Binomial name | |
| Buddleja asiatica Lour. |
|
Buddleja asiatica is a tender deciduous shrub endemic to a vast area of the East Indies, and first described by Loureiro in 1790. The shrub can be found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, New Guinea, and the Philippines, growing in open woodland at elevations < 2,800 m either as understorey scrub, or as a small tree.[1] B. asiatica was introduced to the UK in 1874, and given the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993.[2]
Contents |
B. asiatica can grow < 7 m tall in the wild. The leaves are usually narrowly lanceolate to ovoid, < 30 cm long, attached by petioles 15 mm long, to branches round in section. The sweetly-scented flowers are usually white, occasionally pale violet, and borne in late winter at the ends of the long, lax branches in slender panicles, the size of which can vary widely according to source.[1]
B. asiatica is not hardy in the UK, but can be grown reliably against a south-facing wall in coastal areas of the south and west. The species is grown under glass by the NCCPG national collection holders, Longstock Park Nursery, near Stockbridge, Hampshire.
The shrub is in commerce in the UK, and can be sourced using the RHS Plantfinder [1].