Butterfly bush (Invasive Plants of Maryland)

Butterfly bush

Buddleja davidii

Description ⁹

Orange-eye butterfly-bush, or summer lilac, is native to southwestern China and was introduced into North America around 1900 for ornamental purposes. It escaped from plantings and occurs in scattered locations in the Northeast, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic and in the western U.S. from southern California to northern Washington. Butterfly-bush prefers disturbed sites and riparian areas. It is a deciduous shrub with arching stems and can grow 3-15 ft. in height. The leaves are 6-10 in. long, opposite, lanced-shaped, pale gray-green, velvety and have toothed margins. It flowers summer to fall. The flowers are produced in thick, wand-like clusters from the tips of stems. Flowers are tubular, with four petals with wavy margins and can be lilac, pink or white with a deep yellow to orange center. The flowers produce lots of nectar which attracts butterflies. It spreads by seed which is dispersed mostly by wind. A related species, Lindley’s butterfly-bush (B. lindleyana) has been reported to be invasive in natural areas in Florida.

Invasive species ¹⁰

Buddleja davidii has been classified as an invasive species in many countries in temperate regions, including the United Kingdom and New Zealand. It is naturalized in Australia and in most cities of central and southern Europe, where it can spread on open lands and in gardens.

Within the United States, it is widely established as an escape from cultivation, and classified as a noxious weed by the states of Oregon and Washington.

Monarch butterfly feeding on a buddleja flower, Connecticut, United States

Buddleja davidii flowers with painted lady, peacock and (underneath) small tortoiseshell butterflies

Close-up of purple Buddleja davidii cultivar flowers

Close-up of purple Buddleja davidii flowers photographed in visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light

Buddleja davidii 'White Profusion' cultivar flowers

Seed capsules

Seeds

Leaves

Sources and Credits

(c) c michael hogan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by c michael hogan
(c) owenmoorhead, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by owenmoorhead
(c) Forest & Kim Starr, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/49980.jpg
(c) Daniel Cahen, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Daniel Cahen
(c) Jon Sullivan, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jon Sullivan
2013 Anthony Baniaga, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=432595&one=T
(c) Juan Manuel Sánchez, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6213/6248219776_de28a1dd2b.jpg
(c) icosahedron, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by icosahedron
(c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22734068
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddleja_davidii

More Info

Range Map

iNat Map

Flower color	purple

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