''Buddleja longifolia'' is a species now restricted to remnants of montane forest in
Loja,
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, and northern
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
at altitudes of 2100 – 2600 m.
[Norman, E. M. (2000). Buddlejaceae. ''Flora Neotropica 81''. New York Botanical Garden, USA] The species was first described and named by
Kunth
Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850) was a German botanist. He was also known as Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth. He was one of the early systematic botanists who focused on studying the plants of th ...
in 1818.
[Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth (1818). ''Nov. gen. sp. ed. fol.'' 2: 281, ed. quar. 2: 349. t. 186. 1818.]
Description
''Buddleja longifolia'' is a
dioecious
Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...
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 ...
or small tree 1–7 m, occasionally <10 m, high with grey, furrowed bark. The young branches are quadrangular and
tomentulose, bearing
oblong-lanceolate to oblong elliptic leaves 10 – 20 cm long by 3 – 6.5 cm wide,
glabrescent above,
tomentose
Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...
to
tomentulose below. The white to pale yellow
paniculate 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 ...
is 15 – 25 cm long by 15 – 22 cm wide with three orders of branches, the flowers borne in
sessile cymules 4 –7 mm in diameter, each with 1 – 6 flowers. The
corolla is 2 – 3 mm long.
[
]
Cultivation
The species is not known to be in cultivation.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4984674
longifolia
Flora of Southern America
Trees of Ecuador
Trees of Peru
Dioecious plants