Buddleja fallowiana

Description

Buddleja fallowiana is a deciduous shrub typically growing to a height of 4 m. Of loose habit, the plant has young shoots clothed with a dense white felt. The ovate to narrowly elliptic leaves are 4-13 cm long by 1 cm wide, acuminate or acute at the apex; the upper and lower surfaces densely tomentose, bestowing a silvery grey sheen. The inflorescences are slender, thyrsoid, sometimes interrupted, with panicles at the ends of the current year's shoots. The flowers are 5-15 cm long by 2-3 cm wide, comprising fragrant lavender blue flowers with orange throats, the corollas 2 – 3.5 mm wide by 9 – 14 mm long with erect lobes. The flowers bloom in late summer and autumn.

Growth is significantly slower than that of B. davidii; Bean considered the species more closely allied to B. nivea, Image:Buddleja fallowiana leaf.jpg Image: Fallowiana inflorescence 2.jpg

Cultivation

Somewhat tender, B. fallowiana is best grown against a wall. However, if cut to the ground by frost, it will grow again from the base. Hardiness: USDA zones 8–9.

Varieties

• Buddleja fallowiana var. alba. The variety was considered horticulturally superior to B. fallowiana by Bean, who thought it one of the most attractive of all Buddlejas; However, its varietal status was challenged by Leeuwenberg, who considered its colouration insufficient to justify it as a variety, and sank it as simply B. fallowiana.

Hybrid cultivars

A number of hybrid cultivars have been raised, invariably through a crossing of the species with Buddleja davidii:

• Buddleja 'Lochinch'
• Buddleja 'Mayford Purple'
• Buddleja 'Vashon Skies'
• Buddleja 'West Hill'

References

• 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. online at www.efloras.org

References

1. . (n.d.). ["Buddleja fallowiana Balf.f. & W.W.Sm."](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:545746-1). *The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew*.
2. It is [[endemism
3. Sabourin, L. (1929). Le Buddleja fallowiana et sa variété alba. ''Revue Horticole'', pp. 418-420, Vol. 101. 1929.
4. Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) ''The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species''. H. Veenman & Zonen, Wageningen, Nederland.
5. although its [[chromosome]] number, ''2n'' = 76 (tetraploid), places it alongside the similarly tetraploid ''B. davidii''.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.
6. Stuart, D. D. (2006). ''Buddlejas''. RHS Plant Guide. Timber Press, Oregon. {{ISBN. 978-0-88192-688-0