''Buddleja subcapitata'' is a small shrub discovered in 2003 by Liu and Peng in
Sichuan, China, growing alongside a road bordering forest in Yanbian County at an elevation of 2,200 m.
[Liu, E.D. & Peng, H. (2004). Buddleja subcapitata (Buddlejaceae), a new species from SW Sichuan, China. ''Ann. Bot. Fenn.'' 41(6): 467–469.] First described in 2004, this putative species was not included in
Leeuwenberg's study of Asiatic and African buddleja published in 1979.
[Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) ''The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species''. H. Veenman & Zonen, Wageningen, Nederland.]
Description
''Buddleja subcapitata'' grows to 1.5 m in height in the wild. The branchlets are quadrangular and densely
tomentose, the bark of old branches peeling and often
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 ...
. The leaves are
lanceolate or obovate - lanceolate, 3.5 – 11.0 cm long by 1.1 – 3.1 cm wide,
rugose and tomentose above, densely tomentose below. The small terminal
inflorescences are erect, compact,
capitulum
capitulum (plural capitula) may refer to:
*the Latin word for chapter
** an index or list of chapters at the head of a gospel manuscript
** a short reading in the Liturgy of the Hours
*** derived from which, it is the Latin for the assembly known ...
-like
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 comprising many
cymes, 1.7 – 2.5 cm long by 1.9 – 2.5 cm wide, with usually two leafy bracts at the base. The
lilac
''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...
flowers are densely packed, the
corollas 9 – 10 mm long and densely tomentose outside.
[
''Buddleja subcapitata'' most closely resembles ''B. yunnanensis'' but differs in both flower and leaf morphology.
]
Cultivation
''Buddleja subcapitata'' is not known to be in cultivation.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15592549
subcapitata
Flora of China
Flora of Sichuan