Buddleja loricata

Buddleja loricata is a hardy evergreen shrub endemic to South Africa and Mozambique, where it grows on mountain slopes at elevations above 1,800 m. The shrub has only recently been introduced to cultivation in Europe.^[1]

Buddleja loricata
Buddleja loricata flowers,
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Genus:	Buddleja
Species:	B. loricata
Binomial name
Buddleja loricata Leeuwenb.
Synonyms
Chilianthus corrugatus Benth. Buddleja corrugata (Benth.) Phillips Nuxia corrugata Benth.

Description

B. loricata, Longstock Park Nursery

Buddleja loricata makes a large, bushy shrub < 4 m in height. The leaves are opposite, narrowly oblong-elliptic, < 9 cm long by 2 cm wide, the wrinkled upper surfaces dark green. The honey-scented flowers are small, pale cream with a dull orange throat, borne in clustered terminal heads from mid-autumn to winter.^[1]

Cultivation

Buddleja loricata is hardy in the UK, and considered easy to grow, being tolerant of heat, drought, and cold, and requiring very little pruning to maintain shape. The shrub features in the NCCPG National Collection of Buddleja held by the Longstock Park Nursery, near Stockbridge, England. Hardiness: USDA zones 7–9.^[1]

Hybrids

The shrub was crossed with Buddleja crispa by Peter Moore, Longstock Park Nursery, to create the hybrid cultivar Silver Anniversary.