Buddleja × alata explained

Buddleja × alata Rehder & E.H.Wilson is endemic to western Sichuan, China, growing at elevations of 1,300 - 3,000 m; it was first described and named by Rehder and Wilson in 1913.^[1] Leeuwenberg found the plant to be such a perfect intermediate of Buddleja albiflora and Buddleja nivea as to consider it a hybrid of the two species.^[2]

Description

Buddleja × alata grows to between heights of 1 - 3 m in the wild. The stems are tetragonous and winged. The leaves are lanceolate, acuminate at the apex, 14 - 28 cm long, glabrous above, tomentose beneath. The inflorescences, which appear in August, are narrow terminal and axillary panicles, 10 - 20 cm long, and comprise white flowers with yellow eyes.^{[3] [4]}

Cultivation

The species is uncommon in cultivation.

References

• Li, B & 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

Notes and References

1. Sargent, C. S. (1913). Plantae Wilsonianae. An Enumeration of the Woody Plants Collected in Western China for the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. 1(3): 570. 1913 [15 May 1913]. Arnold Arboretum, Cambridge, MA.
2. Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species. Mededelingen Landbouwhogeschool Wageningen, Nederland.
3. Phillips, R. & Rix, M. (1989). Shrubs. The Pan Garden Plants Series. Pan, London.
4. http://www.gapphotos.com/imagedetails.asp?imageno=177743