Buddleja americana forms a shrub with narrow grey green hairy leaves. In the UK the plant needs to be grown in a hot glasshouse or conservatory in order to ripen the wood sufficiently for flowering.
History
Named and described by Linnaeus in 1754 in honour of the English naturalist Reverend Adam Buddle at the suggestion of the Scottish botanist William Houstoun, B. americana was sent to the UK in around 1730 by Houstoun about 15 years after Buddle’s death making this the first Buddleja species known to science.
The species occurs naturally from Mexico through Central America and down the Western side of South America to Northern Bolivia. It is also found in Jamaica, Cuba and the Galapagos Islanands; growing in a variety of habitats including mountain savanna, cloud forests and rocky slopes near rivers from sea level to 2500m.
