Buddleja delavayi

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Diaphoretickes
Cladus: CAM
Cladus: Archaeplastida
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Scrophulariaceae
Tribus: Buddlejeae
Genus: Buddleja
Sectio: Buddleja sect. Alternifoliae
Species: Buddleja delavayi
Name

Buddleja delavayi Gagnep.
References

Motul. Syst. (Paris) 2:190. 1912
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Buddleja delavayi in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Buddleja delavayi is a Chinese species discovered by Forrest in the Tali Range above Dali (2000 – 2500 m elevation), Yunnan, in 1910;[1] it is also found in Xizang (Tibet).[2] The species was named for l'Abbé Delavay, the French missionary and plant collector, by Gagnepain in 1912.[2] The shrub is of interest to the botanist because of its unique (within the genus) resting buds and the different types of inflorescence produced through the year.[1]
Description
B. delavayi spring inflorescence

Buddleja delavayi is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing 2 – 6 m high by up to 3 m wide. The young branches and shoots are rounded, bearing elliptic leaves 1.5 – 6 cm long, usually with short < 4 mm petioles, the margins either serrate or entire. The heavily honey-scented flowers, which appear in April and occasionally again in September, are rose-lilac with an orange eye, borne in lax, terminal and axillary panicles. The inflorescences produced in spring are small, 4 – 12 cm long, whereas those produced in autumn are more than twice the length, at 20 – 25 cm. The individual flowers are relatively large, the corollas 8 mm wide by 10 mm long, and a deep salmon rose in colour. The buds of the spring flowers are formed in autumn, and protected from frost by small dry brown scales resembling those of the cherry, and are unique within the genus.[1] Ploidy 2n = 114.[3]
Cultivation

Introduced to the UK at about the time of the First World War, B. delavayi was raised at Caerhays Castle by J. C. Williams, and later at Kew. The shrub is included in the NCCPG National Collection held by the Longstock Park Nursery, near Stockbridge, Hampshire. Hardiness: USDA zones 8 – 9.[2]
References

Cotton, A. D. (1947). Spring flowering buddleias. RHS Journal Vol. 72. 1947. 427–437. Royal Horticultural Society, London.
Stuart, D. (2006). Buddlejas. Timber Press, Oregon, USA. ISBN 978-0-88192-688-0

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.

Literature

Bean, W. J. (1970). Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, 8th ed., Vol. 1.. (2nd impression 1976) London
Hillier & Sons (1990). Hillier's Manual of Trees & Shrubs, 5th ed.. David & Charles, Newton Abbot.
Krüssmann, G. (1984). Manual of Cultivated Broad-leaved Trees & Shrubs, Vol. 1. Engl. transl. London, 1984.
Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species. H. Veenman & Zonen, Wageningen, Nederland.
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. ISBN 978-0915279371 online at www.efloras.org
Phillips, R. & Rix, M. (1989). Shrubs, Pan Books, London.