''Buddleja fallowiana'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

province of western China, where it grows in open woodland, along forest edges and watercourses.Bean, W. J. (1917). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain'', 7th edition. Murray, London. The plant was collected in China by the Scottish botanist George Forrest in 1906, and named in 1917 by Balfour and

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

for George Fallow, a gardener at the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

. Fallow had died in Egypt in 1915 from wounds sustained fighting in the Gallipoli Campaign.Sabourin, L. (1929). Le Buddleja fallowiana et sa variété alba. ''Revue Horticole'', pp. 418-420, Vol. 101. 1929.

Description

''Buddleja fallowiana'' is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub typically growing to a height of . Of loose habit, the plant has young shoots clothed with a dense white felt. The ovate to narrowly elliptic leaves are long by wide,

acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

or acute at the apex; the upper and lower surfaces densely

tomentose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

, bestowing a silvery grey sheen. The

inflorescences An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

are slender, thyrsoid, sometimes interrupted, with

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s at the ends of the current year's shoots. The flowers are long by wide, comprising fragrant

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...

blue flowers with orange throats, the corollas 2 – 3.5 mm wide by 9 – 14 mm long with erect lobes. The flowers bloom in late summer and autumn.Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) ''The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species''. H. Veenman & Zonen, Wageningen, Nederland. Growth is significantly slower than that of ''B. davidii'';

Bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

considered the species more closely allied to ''B. nivea'', although its

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

number, ''2n'' = 76 (tetraploid), places it alongside the similarly tetraploid ''B. davidii''.Chen, G, Sun, W-B, & Sun, H. (2007). Ploidy variation in Buddleja L. (Buddlejaceae) in the Sino - Himalayan region and its biogeographical implications. ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.'' 2007, 154, 305 – 312. The Linnean Society of London. Image:Buddleja fallowiana leaf.jpg Image: Fallowiana inflorescence 2.jpg

Cultivation

Somewhat tender, ''B. fallowiana'' is best grown against a wall. However, if cut to the ground by frost, it will grow again from the base. Hardiness:

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

zones 8–9.Stuart, D. D. (2006). ''Buddlejas''. RHS Plant Guide. Timber Press, Oregon.

Varieties

* ''Buddleja fallowiana'' var. ''alba''. The variety was considered horticulturally superior to ''B. fallowiana'' by

, who thought it one of the most attractive of all Buddlejas; it was accorded the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

in 1993. However, its varietal status was challenged by Leeuwenberg, who considered its colouration insufficient to justify it as a variety, and sank it as simply ''B. fallowiana''.

Hybrid cultivars

A number of

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

cultivars have been raised, invariably through a crossing of the species with ''

Buddleja davidii ''Buddleja davidii'' (spelling variant ''Buddleia davidii''), also called summer lilac, butterfly-bush, or orange eye, is a species of flowering plant in the family Scrophulariaceae, native to Sichuan and Hubei provinces in central China, and als ...

'': * ''Buddleja'' 'Lochinch' * ''Buddleja'' 'Mayford Purple' * ''Buddleja'' 'Vashon Skies' * ''Buddleja'' 'West Hill'

References

*Li, P. T. & Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1996). Loganiaceae, in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of China'', Vol. 15. Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, USA.
online at www.efloras.org
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4984631 fallowiana Flora of China Taxa named by Isaac Bayley Balfour Taxa named by William Wright Smith