Flora of North America species comparison

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Buddleja madagascariensis

smoke bush
Habit Shrubs, climbing, sarmentose, 20–50 dm.
Stems

branched, tomentose.
Leaves

often with globular stipular lines;

petiole 5–15 mm;

blade ovate to elliptic, 8–15 × 2–5 cm, base rounded, margins entire, apex acuminate, abaxial surface tomentose, adaxial glabrous or glabrate.
Inflorescences

terminal, tapering-spicate thyrses, 5–25 × 3–5 cm, cymes 10–25 pairs, 5–15-flowered.
Pedicels

essentially absent;

bracteoles present.
Flowers

slightly fragrant;

calyx tomentose externally, tube 2–3 mm, lobes 0.5–1 mm;

corolla yellowish orange, salverform, tube 7–9 mm, lobes suborbiculate, 2.5–3.5 × 2–3 mm;

stamens inserted proximal to throat of corolla tube, included in tube;

ovary subglobular, 1–1.5 mm, tomentose at tip;

stigma clavate, 1–1.5 mm.
Fruits

berries, bluish purple, globular, 2.5–5 × 2.5–5 mm, papillose, indehiscent.
Seeds

ovoid, 0.6–0.9 × 0.5–0.6 mm, wings absent.
2n

= 38.

Buddleja madagascariensis
Phenology Flowering Mar–May; fruiting not known in continental United States.
Habitat Roadsides.
Elevation 10–20 m. (0–100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; Indian Ocean Islands (Madagascar) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies (Cuba, Puerto Rico), South America (Argentina, Uruguay), Europe (Greece), Africa (Republic of South Africa), Indian Ocean Islands (Mauritius, Réunion), Pacific Islands (Fiji, Hawaii, New Caledonia, New Zealand), Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Buddleja madagascariensis is considered a serious invader in Hawaii at 900–1200 m, where it sets abundant fruits (Hawaii Invasive Species Council, https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/species/smoke-bush/); this contrasts with the report by A. J. M. Leeuwenberg (1979) that he had observed specimens with fruits only from Crete, Madagascar, and Mauritius.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 329.
Parent taxa Scrophulariaceae > Buddleja
Sibling taxa
B. davidii, B. indica, B. lindleyana, B. marrubiifolia, B. racemosa, B. saligna, B. scordioides, B. sessiliflora, B. utahensis
Synonyms Nicodemia madagascariensis
Name authority Lamarck: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 1: 513. (1785) — (as Budleia)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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