Buddleja incana

This article is about the plant named kiswar or kiswara. For other uses, see Kiswar (disambiguation). For the mountain in Bolivia, see Kiswara.

Buddleja incana is a species of shrub or tree in the family Scrophulariaceae.^[2][4] It is native to the Andes.^[5]

Buddleja incana
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Genus:	Buddleja
Species:	B. incana
Binomial name
Buddleja incana Ruiz & Pav.
Synonyms[2][3]
Buddleja incana var. pannulosa Diels Buddleja rondeletiiflora Benth. Buddleja rugosa Kunth Nicodemia rondeletiiflora (Benth.) Benth. Nicodemia rondeletiiflora var. acuminata Aug.DC.

Description

Buddleja incana is a dioecious tree or shrub, 4 – 15 m tall, the trunk < 50  cm at the base, the bark brownish and furrowed. The branches are subquadrangular and tomentose, and form a rounded crown. The coriaceous leaves are mostly oblong, 7 – 21 cm long by 1 – 5 cm wide, the upper surface glabrescent, often bullate or rugose, the lower white or yellowish tomentose. The yellow to orange paniculate inflorescences have 2 – 3 orders of leafy-bracted branches bearing heads 1 – 1.5 cm in diameter, each with 15 – 40 flowers, the corollas 3 – 4 mm long. Ploidy: 2n = 76.^[5]

Distribution and habitat

Buddleja incana is present in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, growing in canyon bottoms along streams at elevations of 2,700 – 4,500 m.^[5]

Vernacular names

Buddleja incana is called kiswar in Quechua,^[6][7] kiswara in Aymara,^[8] quishuar in Spanish.^[9]

Uses

The leaves are used in folk medicine against toothache and as diuretic.^[5]