Buddleja megalocephala

Buddleja megalocephala
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Buddlejaceae
Genus: Buddleja
Species: B. megalocephala
Binomial name
Buddleja megalocephala
Donn. Sm.
Synonyms
  • Buddleja hysophila I. M. Johnst.
  • Buddleja megalocephala Donn. Sm. f. albilanata

Buddleja megalocephala is a species endemic to Guatemala, in the Central Highlands, the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, and Mt. Tacana on the border with Mexico, where it grows in open areas associated with evergreen cloud forest at elevations of 2700 4,000 m.[1] The species was first named and described by Smith in 1897.[2]

Description

B. megalocephala is a dioecious tree 5 15 m high with a trunk < 65 cm in diameter at the base, with brown fissured bark. The young branches are thick, quadrangular and densely tomentose, bearing lanceolate or elliptic-oblong leaves 7 20 cm long by 2 6 cm wide on 1 2 cm petioles, subcoriaceous, glabrescent above, tomentose below. The inflorescence measures 6 20 cm by 8 10 cm, comprising globose heads in racemes, occasionally with two orders of branches; the heads 1.2 2 cm in diameter, each with 40 50 orange flowers; the corollas 4 5 mm long. Ploidy: 2n = 76. [1]

Cultivation

The tree is in commerce in the UK; suppliers can be found in the RHS Plantfinder .

References

  1. 1 2 Norman, E. M. (2000). Buddlejaceae. Flora Neotropica 81. New York Botanical Garden, USA
  2. Donn. (1897). Bot. Gaz. 23: 10. 1897.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buddleja megalocephala.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.