General Info – summary

This Tree is up to 7m high or remains a multi-stemmed shrub. The whitish young stem bark becomes rough and stringy. Simple, decussate Leaves are lanceolate and discolorous. The small, 4-merous Flowers are, bisexual, regular with epipetalous stamens and a single pistil with a single style. The small creamy brown Fruit with a persistent calyx, is a lobed terminal capsule with oblong, compressed seeds.

Description

Buddleja auriculate

Previous Names: Buddleia auriculata.

SA Tree No. 636.5.

Common names: (Afr) Treursaliehout. (Eng) Weeping Sage, Winter Wild Buddleia, Weeping Sagewood. (isiXhosa) Utile.

Family: Scrophulariaceae (figwort family). The simple mature Leaves are usually opposite and/or alternate. The bisexual Flowers are usually zygomorphic (irregular flower: when corolla is divisible into 2 equal halves in one plane only). The calyx is 4-5 lobed and there are tubular corollas with 2 lips. Usually 4 stamens are present and are usually didynamous (2 long and 2 short). The superior ovary is usually bilocular and contains many ovules. The style is terminal, simple and the stigma is entire or has 2-3 lobes. The Fruit is usually a capsule. There are usually 1 to many Seeds per locule. In this family, there are about 65 genera and more than 1 600 species. In southern Africa, the genera with trees included on this website are Buddleja, Dermatobotrys and Freylinia. 2024.05.02.

Name derivation: Buddleja named to recognise Rev Adam Buddle 1660-1715. He was an English botanist who trained at Cambridge University. His herbarium formed part of the foundation collections of the British museum. auriculata: ear-shaped. This refers to the shape of the stipules. There are 7 species of the genus Buddleja in southern Africa.

Conservation: National Status: L C. Least concern. Assessment: Raimondo et al. (2009).

Tree

This small Tree is up to 7m high – usually less, or it is often a multi-stemmed, scrambling shrub. The woody, arching, slender willow-like branches are pale brown to greyish-brown and tend to hang down – often trailing. The light brown Bark becomes rough and stringy with age (photo 104). Young stems are round or 4-angled (photo 394 – under Leaves). They emerge from leaf axils and are covered with whitish grey hair (photo 107 under Leaves). They become long, slender and may be brown to red (photo 394 – under Leaves).

: 104 2014/12/02 Walter Sisulu NBG. Photo: David Becking.

Leaves

The mainly lanceolate (photo 389), oblong to ovate (shape of an egg with the widest point closest to the petiole) Leaves (photo 389) are opposite, or nearly so and occur in drooping pairs. Each leaf is simple (have a single blade, which may have incisions that are not deep enough to divide the leaf into leaflets). The thin leaves may reach 12 x 5cm and are decussate (opposite pairs of leaves have successive pairs at right angles to each other – photos 391 & 107) and rest on the usually square young stems (photo 394). The Upper Surface is smooth – not wrinkled, medium to dark green and glossy with clearly visible sunken midrib and veins (photo 110). The Lower Surface is whitish – covered with white to grey brown hairs and has a protruding midrib and lateral veins (photo 389). The leaf is thus discolorous (having upper and lower surfaces of leaves different colours). The Apex tapers to a narrow point (photo 389) and the Base is broadly tapering to rounded. The rolled under Margin is usually finely toothed (photos 389 & 110) or scalloped and may be entire (with a continuous margin, not in any way indented). The hairy Petiole (leaf stalk) is up to 1cm long and grooved on the upper side (photos 109 & 389). The large Stipules (basal appendage of the petiole) are green, short lasting, leaf-like or reduced to a line. They grow on a ridge between the opposite leaves and may be ear-shaped (hence, the species name – photo 109).

: 391. 2014/10/28. Walter Sisulu NBG. Photo: David Becking.

: 107. 2014/12/02. Walter Sisulu NBG. Photo: David Becking.

: 109. 2014/12/02. Walter Sisulu NBG. Photo: David Becking.

: 394. 2014/10/28. Walter Sisulu NBG. Photo: David Becking.

: 389. 2014/10/28. Walter Sisulu NBG. Photo: David Becking.

: 110. 2014/12/02. Walter Sisulu NBG. Photo: David Becking.

Flowers

The small (up to 7mm long), strongly sweetly scented, bisexual Flowers are actinomorphic (Regular, symmetrical. Flowers are vertically divisible into similar halves by more than 1 plane passing through the axis). The attractive, trumpet-shaped, cream, orange or lilac flowers occur in axillary sprays or at branch ends in up to 4cm long Panicles (indeterminate, branched inflorescence with stalked flowers). The Calyx is pubescent (with dense fine, short, soft hairs, downy) on the outside only. The throat of the 4-lobed Corolla has a tubular base and is cream, orange yellow, lavender, lilac, flesh or salmon coloured. The lobes are erect and up to 5 times as long as the calyx. Once the flower is open, the corolla lobes become recurved or reflexed. The 4 Stamens are epipetalous (arising from the petals) and do not protrude beyond the corolla tube. They alternate with the corolla lobes. The Filaments are connate (united or joined). The non-protruding Anthers have parallel Theca (pollen sacs) that have longitudinal slits and are basifixed. There is a single Pistil (a unit of the Gynoecium, the female element of the flower, composed of the Ovary, Style and Stigma). The superior Ovary is pubescent (with dense fine, short, soft hairs: downy). It is 2-locular and has a single style. (Apr-Aug).

Fruit

The creamy brown, dehiscent Fruit is a small, 2-lobed smooth or hairy terminal Capsule (a dry fruit resulting from the maturing of the compound ovary which usually opens at maturity by one or more lines of dehiscence). It is up to 6 x 2,5mm and protrudes for about half its length beyond the persistent Calyx lobes (photo 390). The capsule splits longitudinally from the apex into 2-4 valves (the units or pieces into which the capsule splits, or divides when dehiscing). The many Seeds have endosperm (the starch and oil-containing tissue of many seeds; often referred to as the albumen). (Jun-Oct).

: 390 2014/10/28 Walter Sisulu NBG. Photo: David Becking.

Distribution & Ecology

This plant is semi scandent (climbing without the aid of tendrils) and located in Eastern Cape e.g., the densely forested Amatola mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. It is also found in Zimbabwe, Mozambique (central – away from the coast) and Swaziland. It is thus endemic (restricted to a particular geographic location) in southern Africa. This plant was accorded the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit in 1923. These plants grow on forest margins, kloofs (steep-sided, wooded ravines or valleys), along streams and rocky slopes at reasonable altitudes from 600 to 2 000m. They also found in mist belts and can withstand temperatures from -5°C. to nearly 40°C. and are drought resistant. The sweet-scented flowers attract sunbirds and insects. These insects attract other birds like the Cape robin-chat (Cossypha caffra) and Southern Boubou (Laniarius ferrugineus).`

Ethnobotany

The plant grows well from hard woodcuttings. It is not fussy about the soil type and is suitable for a large sunny garden. This is a special, impressive garden shrub or small tree and is able to withstand clipping. Winter this plant sparingly in winter.