''Buddleja loricata'' is a hardy
evergreen shrub
A shrub (often also called a 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 ...
endemic to
South Africa and
Mozambique, where it grows on mountain slopes at elevations above 1,800 m. The shrub has only recently been introduced to cultivation in
Europe.
[Stuart, D. D. (2006). ''Buddlejas''. RHS Plant Collector Guide. Timber Press, Oregon. ]
Description
''Buddleja loricata'' makes a large, bushy shrub < 4 m in height. The leaves are opposite, narrowly
oblong - elliptic, < 9 cm long by 2 cm wide, the wrinkled upper surfaces dark green. The honey-scented flowers are small, pale cream with a dull orange throat, borne in clustered terminal heads from mid - autumn to winter.
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Cultivation
''Buddleja loricata'' is hardy in the UK, and considered easy to grow, being tolerant of heat, drought, and cold, and requiring very little pruning to maintain shape. The shrub features in the NCCPG
Plant Heritage, formerly known as the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG), is a botanical conservation organisation in the United Kingdom and a registered charity. It was founded in 1978 to combine the talents of b ...
National Collection of '' Buddleja'' held by the Longstock Park
Longstock Park is in the civil parish of Longstock in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, and forms part of the Leckford Estate (1520 ha.), wholly owned by the John Lewis Partnership.
Description
Formerly Longstock Manor, of med ...
Nursery, near Stockbridge, England. Hardiness: USDA zones 7–9.[
]
Hybrids
The shrub was crossed with '' Buddleja crispa'' by Peter Moore, Longstock Park Nursery, to create the hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
cultivar
References
* Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) ''The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species''. H. Veenman & Zonen B. V. Nederland.
Further reading
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4984679
loricata
Flora of South Africa
Flora of Africa