Buddleja lindleyana Fortune

Lindley's Butterfly Bush

Shrub

Perennial

Vascular

Lindley's Butterfly Bush is a deciduous or semi-evergreen introduced shrub in the Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). It is native to China. In Alabama it can be found around old home sites, in vacant lots, and on roadsides. It was introduced into the United States in the mid 1800’s. Plants grow from 4-9 feet in height with multiple trunks. The bark on older trunks is reddish brown to gray in color. It freely suckers from the roots, and often form large clones. The slender, arching branches are slightly angled. Leaves are opposite, petiolate, ovate-lanceolate to ovate-elliptic in outline, with entire or few toothed margins. The leaves are glabrate above and short stellate pubescent below. The flowers are produced at the ends of the branches in a loosely flowered thyrse. The corolla, calyx, pedicels, and rachis are granular farinose. The salviform corolla is 4 lobed and the tube is bent. The corolla is purple. The fruit is a capsule. Lindley's Butterfly Bush flowers are attractive to butterflies, bees & hummingbirds. Plants are available from some nurseries that sell “heirloom” species. Plants can also be grown from cuttings or from root suckers. Lindley's Butterfly Bush prefers full sun and a well-draining soil. It is tolerant of poor soils and drought. Plants should not be heavily pruned as is common with other Butterfly Bush species.--A. Diamond

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Not Native

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