Buddleja rufescens is endemic to western Peru from Piura to Ica where it grows along roadsides, dry river courses, and in remnants of scrubby woodland from sea level to 2,000 m. The species was first named and described by Willdenow in 1827.[1][2]

Buddleja rufescens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Buddleja
Species:
B. rufescens
Binomial name
Buddleja rufescens
Willd. ex Schultes & Schultes
Synonyms
  • Buddleja occidentalis Ruiz & Pav.
  • Buddleja occidentalis Kunth

Description edit

Buddleja rufescens is a trioecious shrub 1 – 3 m tall with blackish fissured bark. The young branches are subquadrangular and tomentulose bearing membranaceous oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate leaves 9 – 15 cm long by 3.5 – 7 cm wide, with 0.5 – 2 cm petioles. The pale yellow paniculate leafy-bracted inflorescences are 10 – 25 cm long by 10 – 15 cm comprising 2 orders of branches bearing small cymules with 3 – 5 flowers, the corollas 2 – 3 mm long. Ploidy: 2n = 152.[2]

Cultivation edit

The species is grown at the Museum of Natural History, Lima, and the University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley.

References edit

  1. ^ Willd (1827). Mant. 3:97. 1827.
  2. ^ a b Norman, E. M. (2000). Buddlejaceae. Flora Neotropica 81, pp. 135 - 141. New York Botanical Garden, USA