| Buddleja japonica | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Buddleja |
| Species: | B. japonica |
| Binomial name | |
| Buddleja japonica Hemsley |
|
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]
Contents |
B. 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 horticultual merit, and is also comparatively shortlived.[3]
In the UK a specimen is grown as part of the NCCPG national collection at Longstock Park Nursery, near Stockbridge, Hampshire.
B. japonica var. insignis, a plant with a more compact habit and more brightly coloured flowers.[3]
The shrub is in commerce in the UK; vendors can be found in the RHS's Plantfinder [1].