''Buddleja utahensis'' is a species of ''

Buddleja ''Buddleja'' (; ''Buddleia''; also historically given as ''Buddlea'') is a genus comprising over 140 species of flowering plants endemic to Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The generic name bestowed by Linnaeus posthumously honoured the Revere ...

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 southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(northwest

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, eastern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, southern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and southwestern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

), where it is known by the common names Utah butterfly bush and Panamint butterfly bush. Named and described by Coville in 1892, the shrub favours limestone outcrops at elevations of 700–2000 m,Norman, E. M. (2000). Buddlejaceae. ''Flora Neotropica 81'', pp 116–117. New York Botanical Garden, USA. ISSN 0071-5794 where it is often found in association with

Joshua trees ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

.Stuart, D. (2006). ''Buddlejas''. Plant Collector Guide. Timber Press, Oregon, USA.

Description

''Buddleja utahensis'' is a compact, dwarf

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

shrub reaching 0.3–1.0 m in height. The bark is rimose and greyish, while the plant structure is characterized by persistent naked twigs. The younger branches are terete, bearing subsessile linear to oblong leaves 1.5–3.5 cm long by 0.3–0.5 cm wide, rounded at the apex and attenuate at the base. Both surfaces of the leaves are densely short

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 silver-grey appearance. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s are 4–12 cm long, with 3–7 pairs of heads forming verticels, subtended by leafy bracts. The verticels are 0.5–1.13 cm in diameter, each comprising 15–30 pale yellow flowers, the corollas 4–5 mm long. Capsules are up to 2.5 mm long, with numerous globose seeds up to 0.4 mm in diam.Norman, E.M. 1992. Buddlejaceae, Butterfly Bush Family. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 26:5-6.

Cultivation

''Buddleja utahensis'' is very rare in cultivation; it is a difficult plant to raise in temperate regions, demanding very free draining soil and infrequent watering. 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 ...

zone 8.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Buddleja utahensis'' (Panamint butterfly bush, Summer lilac, Utah butterflybush) Jepson eFlora (JM2) treatment of ''Buddleja utahensis''UC Photos gallery — ''Buddleja utahensis''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4984732 utahensis Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Southwestern United States North American desert flora Natural history of the Mojave Desert Plants described in 1892 Dioecious plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status