Buddleja madagascariensis
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
Madagascar buddleia
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Orange, Yellow
Detailed description
Large spreading evergreen shrub to about 5 m high. leaves up to 14 x 5.5 cm on petioles 10-2.5 cm, glabrous above, pale brown tomentose beneath. Panicle to about 25 cm long, cylindrical with flagrant yellow flowers becoming orange. Fruit not seen.
Similar taxa
Can easily be distinguished from other Buddleja species in NZ by the yellow cylindrical panicle.
Habitat
Terrestrial. Sand dunes and coastal cliffs.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Ecology
Flowering
September, October
Fruiting
not seen in NZ
Year naturalised
1946
Origin
Madagascar
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
Tolerates recent soils with low nutrients.
Life cycle and dispersal
Reproduction probably only vegetative from plantings as fruit has not been observed in New Zealand. Dispersed by humans.
Other information
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.