Buddleja coriacea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Buddleja coriacea | |
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| Buddleja coriacea foliage, Longstock Park Nursery | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Buddleja |
| Species: | B. coriacea |
| Binomial name | |
| Buddleja coriacea | |
| Synonyms | |
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Buddleja coriacea is a variable species endemic to the high Andes from the Cordillera Blanca in Peru to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It is also native to Ecuador.[1] It grows on dry to semi-humid rocky soils at elevations of 3,000–4,350 m,[2] where temperatures range from −3° to 15° C. and the winds are both strong and persistent.[3][4][5][permanent dead link] The species was first named and described by Rémy in 1847.[2]
Buddleja coriacea typically makes a densely crowned, sprawling trioecious shrub or tree, branching almost at ground level. Usually growing to less than 4 m in height in the wild, it can occasionally reach 12 m, with stems up to 40 cm in diameter; the bark is fissured.[3][2] The species is chiefly distinguished by its small, thick, leathery leaves, 1–4 cm long by 0.5–1.5 cm wide, with 3–4 mm petioles. The upper surfaces of the leaves are dark-green and glabrous, contrasting with the undersides which are covered in a cinnamon-brown indumentum. The scented inflorescences comprise 3–8 pairs of head-like cymes, 0.9–1.2 cm in diameter, of 8–12 flowers, the corollas 4.5–6 mm in length, deep yellow to orange-yellow, becoming orange-red with age. Flowering occurs throughout the year, but most commonly between December and June. Ploidy: 2n = 76 (tetraploid).[2]
Cultivation
Buddleja coriacea is cultivated in the high Andes as a field windbreak, as a source of humus for soil improvement, and as high quality, rotproof timber for use in building construction and manufacture of agricultural tools.[4] The shrub was introduced to horticulture in the UK circa 1994, and specimens are held as part of the NCCPG national collection at the Longstock Park Nursery, near Stockbridge.[6] Although not entirely hardy in the UK, the shrub can survive most winters with a modicum of protection; overwinter waterlogging regarded as a greater danger to the plant. The shrub has never been known to flower in the UK owing to either the insufficient intensity or duration of sunlight. Hardiness: USDA zone 9.[7]