Buddleja auriculata Benth.

TSO logo

Sponsor

Kindly sponsored by
The John Spedan Lewis Foundation

Sponsors

Credits

Andrew Large (2021)

Recommended citation
Large, A.T. (2021), 'Buddleja auriculata' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/buddleja/buddleja-auriculata/). Accessed 2024-11-06.

Common Names

  • Weeping Sage
  • Treursalie

Synonyms

  • Buddleja auriculata var. euryifolia Prain

Glossary

Credits

Andrew Large (2021)

Recommended citation
Large, A.T. (2021), 'Buddleja auriculata' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/buddleja/buddleja-auriculata/). Accessed 2024-11-06.

Shrub 0.5–3.5 m, semi-scandent or occasionally a small tree. Branchlets stellate-tomentose, sub-angular or terete. Leaves opposite, petiolate, petiole 3–11 mm, stellate tomentose; stipules leafy 0.5–5 mm; blade elliptic or ovate, 2–5 × as long as wide, 2–13 × 0.5–5 cm, dark green, shiny and glabrous on upper surface, white tomentose with short stellate hairs beneath; acuminate at apex, cuneate or rounded at the base; margins serrate or entire; venation conspicuous, reticulate, impressed above and prominent beneath. Inflorescences terminal, large, many-flowered panicle 2–25 × 2–20 cm. Peduncle, branches and pedicels stellate-tomentose; lower bracts leafy, other small and linear. Flowers sweetly-scented, shortly pedicellate or subsessile. Calyx campanulate, 1.5–2.5 mm long, tomentose with short stellate hairs. Corolla creamy, white with a yellow or orange throat; lobes erect, oblong or suborbicular, outside whitish-tomentose with short stellate hairs or partially glabrescent. 1.5–2.0 × 1.2–1.8 mm; inside pilose with simple hairs from apex of ovary to just below the insertion of the stamens; tube nearly cylindrical 5.5–9 mm long, diameter 1.2–2 mm, often slightly widened just above insertion of the stamens. Stamens included, inserted 2–3.5 mm from corolla mouth; filaments short 0.3–1.0 mm long, anthers oblong 0.9–1.2 × 0.3–0.4 mm. Pistil much shorter than corolla tube, 2.2–4.3 mm long; ovary ovoid, laterally compressed, 0.9–1.5 × 0.7–1.0 × 0.6–0.9 mm, shortly stellate tomentose, abruptly narrowed to the style; style included, stellate tomentose at base, 0.5–1.7 mm long; stigma large, clavate, 0.3–1.2 × 0.3–0.5 mm. Capsule ellipsoid, laterally compressed 2–4 × 1.5–2 × 1.2–1.5 mm, stellate-tomentose but less so than the ovary. Seeds medium brown, polyhedral, narrowly winged 1.2–1.5 × 0.6–0.7 × 0.3–0.4 mm. (Leeuwenberg 1979).

Distribution  MozambiqueSouth Africa Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga SwazilandZimbabwe

Habitat Forest margins and thickets, on rocky slopes and in gullies; 600–2000 m asl.

USDA Hardiness Zone 9-10

RHS Hardiness Rating H3

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

The epithet ‘auriculata’ refers to the ear-shaped structures (auricles) which join the pairs of opposite leaves, although these wither away as the leaves age. Buddleja auriculata is a large shrub or small tree from southern Africa with attractive glossy-green foliage; the leaves are a deep-green with a silvery underside and plants may be evergreen if grown in a sheltered position. Profuse spikes of tiny, tubular, sweetly-scented, white, cream, or pinkish flowers appear towards the end of summer and into autumn or early winter, until frost damages the buds. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, but the honey-perfume scent is both noticeable and particularly fine.

B. auriculata is borderline hardy, and will not tolerate temperatures much below –5ºC. Large; mature specimens may be more resilient to lower temperatures, but will suffer significant frost damage to the top-growth. It is best grown against a sunny wall in a sheltered location, preferring well-drained soil and full sun; it is also drought tolerant. Alternatively, it may be grown in large pot and only brought under cover for the coldest months (Stuart 2006).