''Buddleja alternifolia'', known as alternate-leaved butterfly-bush, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the figwort

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

, China. A substantial deciduous shrub growing to tall and wide, it bears grey-green leaves and graceful pendent racemes of scented lilac flowers in summer.

Description

''B. alternifolia'' is a vigorous

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

reaching tall with long, slender, pendulous stems. The leaves are alternate,

entire Entire may refer to: * Entire function, a function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane * Entire (animal), an indication that an animal is not neutered * Entire (botany) This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions o ...

, and

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

, 4–10 cm long by 0.6–1 cm wide,

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

and dark green above. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s of the plants in cultivation are bright lilac-purple, and comprise flowers so densely crowded in clusters along the branch as to often obscure it. However, specimens from the Tsangpo valley in Tibet originally named ''B. tsetangensis'' by Marquand have creamy flowers. Flowering occurs in early summer; the flowers are fragrant, but less so than other buddlejas. 2''n'' = 38.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. In its native territory it grows along river banks in thickets at elevations of .

Taxonomy

In his 1979 revision of the taxonomy of the African and Asiatic species of Buddleja, the Dutch botanist Anthonius Leeuwenberg sank two species, ''B. legendrei'' and ''B. tsetangensis'', as ''B. alternifolia'' on the basis of the similarity in the individual flowers, dismissing the variations in plant structure, flower colour and

leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

as attributable to environmental factors. It was Leeuwenberg's taxonomy which was adopted in the ''Flora of China''Li, P-T. & Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1996). Loganiaceae, in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of China'', Vol. 15. Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, USA
online at www.efloras.org
/ref> published in 1996. Until

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

analysis can prove otherwise, it is this classification which is accepted here.

Cultivation

In the West this plant was first described and named by the Russian botanist

Carl Maximowicz Carl Johann Maximovich, also Karl Ivanovich Maximovich (Russian language, Russian: Карл Иванович Максимович; 23 November 1827 – 16 February 1891) was a Russian botanist. Maximovich spent most of his life studying the flor ...

Maximowicz, (1880). ''Bull. Acad. Pétersb.'' xxvi. 494. 1880. in 1880. It was not introduced to cultivation in the West until 1915, by Purdom and

Farrer Farrer may refer to: People * Alisha Farrer (born 1993), Australian actress and model * Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis * Buster Farrer (1936–2025), South African cricketer * Claude Farrer ...

.Bean, W. J. (1917). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain'', 7th edition. Murray, 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. The species has become very common in cultivation, a popular shrub for the larger garden, and is readily available from most garden centres in the UK. Fully hardy, it prefers a sunny position and loamy soil; pruning should immediately follow flowering. Like most buddlejas, the species is easily propagated from cuttings. Hardiness: RHS H5,

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

zones 7 – 9.Stuart, D. D. (2006). ''Buddlejas''. RHS Plant Collector Guide. Timber Press, Oregon. . ''B. alternifolia'' was accorded the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

(record 674) in 1993.

Cultivars

* ''Buddleja alternifolia'' 'Argentea'.

References

*Hillier & Sons. (1977). ''Hilliers' Manual of Trees and Shrubs''. David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK {{Taxonbar, from=Q2707970 alternifolia Flora of China Taxa named by Karl Maximovich