''Buddleja nivea'' is a vigorous shrub endemic to western

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, evergreen in the wild, but deciduous in cultivation in the UK. The plant was discovered by

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...

in the Yangtze basin at altitudes of 700 – 3,600 m. Introduced to cultivation in 1901, it was named by Duthie in 1905.Bean, W. J. (1970). ''Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, 8th ed., Vol. 1.'' (2nd impression 1976) LondonStuart, D. (2006). ''Buddlejas''. RHS Plant Collector Guide. Timber Press, Oregon, USA. Several plants similar to the species but originally treated as species and varieties in their own right have now been sunk as ''B. nivea'' (see synonyms). 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. vol. 15 (1996)
online at www.efloras.org
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Description

''Buddleja nivea'' reaches 1 – 3 m high, and is chiefly distinguished by the dense white indumentum covering the branchlets,

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

es, and undersides of the leaves. The lanceolate leaves are of variable size, 6 – 22 cm long by 1.5 – 11 cm wide; they are acute or acuminate at the apex, rounded at the base, and very coarsely toothed except at the apex. The insignificant, faintly-scented flowers have short

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

s 6 – 8 mm long, with only the erect lobes visible above the indumentum. The flowers range in colour from pink to purple, and are arranged as narrow terminal panicles, < 25 cm long, appearing in summer.Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) ''The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species''. H. Veenman & Zonen, Wageningen, Nederland. ''B.nivea'' is generally hexaploid (chromosome number 2''n'' = 114), although plants identified as ''B.macrostachya'' may be hexaploid or dodecaploid (2''n''=228).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.

Cultivation

The species is fairly common in cultivation in the UK as it is hardy to - 15 C.. A large specimen is grown as part of the

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National Collection held by

Longstock Park Longstock Park is in the civil parish of Longstock in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, and forms part of the Leckford Estate (1520 ha.), wholly owned by the John Lewis Partnership. Description Formerly Longstock Manor, of med ...

Nursery near Stockbridge, Hampshire. Hardiness: USDA zones 7–8.

References

Literature

*Duthie, J. F. (1905). ''Gard. Chron.'' ser. 3.38 : 275. *Hillier & Sons. (1990), ''Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs'', 5th ed. (1990). David & Charles, Newton Abbot. *Krüssmann, G. (1984). ''Manual of Cultivated Broad-leaved Trees & Shrubs, Vol. 1''. Engl. transl. London, 1984. *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
*Phillips, R. & Rix, M. (1989). ''Shrubs'', Pan Books, London. {{Taxonbar, from=Q4984695 nivea Flora of China