Buddleia

BUSH INVADER

Buddleja davidii

family: BUDDLEJACEAE

Description

  • Also called Butterfly Bush; a large brittle woody shrub to small tree from China and Japan, fast-growing, deciduous.
  • Leaves are long and narrow with a finely-toothed pointed tip, dull green above, grey-white and hairy below.
  • Lilac, purple or white flower sprays, borne on arching branches, are long, narrow and fragrant, and made up of masses of small tubular flowers, orange inside. The lilac is the most weedy.
    Summer flowering.
  • Prolific numbers of small brown cylindrical fruits are produced in late summer, each tailed to aid dispersal.

Dispersal

Seeds are mainly dispersed by wind and water, but also by machinery, vehicles, the movement of soil, and by dumping.

Impact on Bushland

Buddleia can grow almost anywhere, but prefers nutrient-rich watercourses and creeklines, where it quickly dominates, shading out and replacing native plant species.

Distribution

Upper Blue Mountains.

Alternative Planting

Native Plants
Mint Bushes:
(Prostanthera incana, P. caerulea) 2m
Native Indigo
(Indigofera australis, the Mounts) 2m
Grass Trees (Xanthorrhorea species) also attract butterflies.

Exotic alternatives
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
Ceanothus species

Control

Dig out or treat as for Woody Weeds. Repeat treatment as necessary. Pull seedlings when soil is moist.

Buddleia shades out other plants.

Buddleia shades out other plants.

The flowers of Buddleia are attractive to butterflies.

The flowers of Buddleia are attractive to butterflies.