''Buddleja fragifera'' is a rare

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

shrub

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to the southern tip of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, where it grows amongst scrub near the coast. The species was first named and described by Leeuwenberg in 1975.Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1975). ''Acta Bot. Neerl.'' 24: 83. 1975.

Description

''Buddleja fragifera'' is a shrub 2–3 m in height, with stellate-pubescent branchlets. The opposite leaves have petioles 0.4–1 cm long, the blade ovate to elliptic, 0.8–3 cm long by 0.5–2.4 cm wide, obtuse or rounded at the apex, and subcordate to cuneate at the base, and covered by a thick felt-like

indumentum In biology, an indumentum (Latin, literally: "garment") is a covering of trichomes (fine "hairs") on a plantDavis, Peter Hadland and Heywood, Vernon Hilton (1963) ''Principles of angiosperm taxonomy'' Van Nostrandpage, Princeton, New Jersey, page ...

. The dark yellow to orange flowers are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, the

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

s 6–7.5 mm long.Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) ''The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species''. H. Veenman & Zonen, Wageningen, Nederland.

Range and habitat

''Buddlejea fragifera'' is native to southern and southwestern

, where it is found near the coast in

Anosy Anosy is one of the 22 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name ''Anosy'' means "island(s)" in Malagasy. Due to a strategic sea route running alo ...

and

Androy Androy is the most southerly region of Madagascar. It covers an area of 19,540 km2, and had a population of 903,376 inhabitants in 2018. The administrative capital is Ambovombe-Androy, and the chief administrator is Michael Andrianirina (sinc ...

regions (formerly

Toliara Province The Toliara Province (formerly Toliary or Tuléar) is a former province of Madagascar with an area of . It had a population of 2,229,550 (July, 2001). Its capital was Toliara. Near Toliara was the " spiny forest". Toliara Province bordered the fol ...

) from sea level up to 200 meters elevation. It is known from only five widely-scatterered locations. Its habitat includes subarid bushland, low dense scrub on sand, and littoral forest. It is threatened by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

from human-set fires, livestock grazing, mining, and deforestation.

Cultivation

''Buddleja fragifera'' is not known to be in cultivation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4984635 fragifera Endemic flora of Madagascar Flora of the Madagascar spiny thickets Flora of the Madagascar succulent woodlands