''Buddleja longiflora'' is a rare species endemic to one small area of Brazil, growing in fields high on the

Serra do Caparaó Serra do Caparaó is a Brazilian mountain range located between the states of Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais. Toponym "Caparaó" is a tupi word, the etymology of which is unclear: it may come from ''capara-oca'' (house made with capara, a ...

at an altitude of 2400 m.Norman, E. M. (2000). Buddlejaceae. ''Flora Neotropica 81''. New York Botanical Garden, USA The species was first described and named by Brade in 1957.Brade (1957). ''Arch. Jard. Bot.'' Rio de Janeiro 15: 11. t 3, f. 1 - 6. 1957.

Description

''Buddleja longiflora'' is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

0.5 – 1 m high. The young branches are densely tomentose, bearing lanceolate leaves 10 – 17 cm long by 1.2 – 2.7 cm wide,

glabrescent Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

above, tomentose below, with petioles 1 – 2.5 cm long. The yellowish orange inflorescence is < 15 cm long, the flowers borne in paired 3 – 5 flowered cymes. The eponymous long flowers have corollas 35 – 42 mm long by 4 – 5 mm wide. The species could be mistaken for ''B. speciosissima'' found in nearby

Itatiaia Itatiaia () is a Brazilian municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is located at an altitude of . Its population was 32,064 in 2020 and its area is . The oldest Brazilian national park, Itatiaia National Park (Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, ...

, but for minor differences in flower and leaf dimensions. It is possible ''B. longiflora'' could be classified as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the latter should more material be availed for examination.

Cultivation

The species is not known to be in cultivation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4984673 longiflora Flora of Brazil Flora of South America