Buddleja coriacea

Buddleja coriacea is a variable species endemic to the high Andes from the Cordillera Blanca in Peru to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It grows on dry to semi-humid rocky soils at elevations of 3,000–4,350 m,^[1] where temperatures range from −3° to 15° C. and the winds are both strong and persistent.^{[2][3][4][permanent dead link]} The species was first named and described by Rémy in 1847.^[1]

Buddleja coriacea
Buddleja coriacea foliage, Longstock Park Nursery
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
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 J.Rémy
Synonyms
Buddleja oblongifolia Rusby Buddleja rhododendroides Kraenzl.

Description

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.^[2][1] 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).^[1]

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.^[3] 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

Hybrids

The species is believed to commonly hybridize with B. montana and B. incana in the wild.^[1]