General Info – summary

This Tree may reach 14m high, with a 38cm wide trunk, or is a shrub.  Brown to reddish bark develops longitudinal strips.  Simple, linear Leaves are decussate, discolorous, lanceolate and much longer than wide.  Tiny regular, white, 4-merous, bisexual Flowers develop in panicles with 4 protruding anthers.  The superior ovary is 2-locular with many ovules.  Fruit is a tiny ovoid capsule with oblong, compressed seeds.

Description

Buddleja saligna

Previous Names: Buddleia corrugata, Buddleia saligna, Buddleia salicifolia, Callicarpa paniculate, Chilianthus arboreus, Chilianthus olraceus, Nxia saligna, Scoparia arborea.

SA Tree No. 636.

Common names: (Afr) Basterolien, Basterolienhout, Basterolyf, Basterolyfhout, Bergolien,  Bergolienhout, Bergolyf, Bergolyfhout, Bossalie, Troubos, Wildevlier, Wildevlierboom, Withoutolien, Withoutolienhout, Witolien, Witolienhout.  (Eng) Bastard Olive, False Olive, (refers to the leaves which resembles the true olive tree – Genus Olea), Olive Sagewood, Quilted sagewood, Sagewood.  (isiXhosa) Igqange.  (isiZulu) iGqeba-elimhlope.  (siSwati) umBatacwepe.  (South Sotho) lelothwane.   (Tswana) mothlware.

Family: Scrophulariaceae (figwort family).  The simple mature Leaves lack stipules and 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.

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.  saligna – willow: referring to the similar appearance of the leaves.  There are 7 species of Buddleja in southern Africa.  Buddleja saligna was first collected by Thunberg and later by Burchel and others.

Conservation: National Status: L C. (Least Concern).  Assessed: Raimondo et al. (2009).

Tree

This Tree may reach 12m high with a much-branched crown (which may droop) in the lowveld but about half, this height in the highveld or it may grow as a multi-stemmed shrub.  The finely fissured Trunk may be upright, straight, up to 30cm wide, twisted or fluted (grooved, funnelled or channelled).  The Bark is creamy, creamy brown to dark brown or reddish.  As the bark expands, it may leave behind thinnish longitudinal pealing ridges that are brown or red and expose younger strips that are almost white (photo 786).  Old bark is longitudinally furrowed.  The finely fissured young Branches are often quadrangular in cross-section with protruding corners (photo 793).  The ridge between pairs of opposite leaves is faint or absent (photo 793) – unlike most others of this genus.

Leaves

The thinly leathery, evergreen tree has Leaves that vary considerably in size.  The Blade is 3 or more times as long as wide and may reach 14cm x 2cm.  Leaves are simple (have a single blade, which may have incisions that are not deep enough to divide the leaf into leaflets).  On the often-square young stems, the leaves are decussate (opposite pairs of leaves have successive pairs at right angles to each other – photo 786 – under Tree).  Leaves are linear, oblong or usually narrowly lanceolate and discolorous (having upper and lower surfaces of leaves different colours – photo 788).  The Upper surface is darkish green, slightly shiny, hairless, smooth and flattish with visible sunken Veins (photo 788).  The Lower scaly surface has stellate hairs and is much lighter, whitish with conspicuous protruding veins.  These veins join to a vein that goes along both sides – just inside the margin (photo 788).  The Margin is entire (with a continuous margin, not in any way indented) and may be rolled under (photo 788).  It may also be irregularly toothed.  The leaf blade is decurrent (here with wings slightly around the petiole).  The Apex tapers to a point and the Base is tapering to roundish and extends into the short – up to 1cm long Petiole (leaf stalk) which may have a visible ridge on the upper surface (photos 788 & 793 under Tree).  There is usually an interpetiolar ridge (between petioles) of opposite leaves, that is distinct in most Buddleja species, but is faint or lacking in this one.  This aids identification (photos 793 – under Tree).  Stipules (basal appendages of the petiole) occur between the paired leaf petioles and fall early.  Vein leaf details are best observed when viewed against a strong light (photo 59).  Here even marginal hairs are visible.  Leaves are somewhat similar to Olea europaea subsp africana (olive) which generally has smaller, shorter leaves that are not translucent.  The looping lines of veins close to the margins are also lacking in Olea (olive).

Flowers

The bunched, tiny white Flowers (photo 790) are pleasantly honey-scented.  They usually occur in profusion at branch ends on large pyramidal shaped terminal Panicles (indeterminate, branched inflorescence with stalked flowers) that are up to 12 x 12cm.  Flowers in Olea europaea subsp africana (African olive) are larger and develop in leaf axils.  In Buddleja saligna great numbers of attractive flowers are individually, very small – about 4mm long.  They are bisexual and actinomorphic (Regular, symmetrical.  The flowers are vertically divisible into similar halves by more than one plane passing through the axis).  Pedicels (stalk of a single flower) are short.  The 4-lobed Calyx is pubescent (with dense fine, short, soft hairs) on the outside only.  The Corolla has a short tube with 4 Petals that may have an orange or reddish throat (photo 785).  Each externally white or cream coloured petal is up to 4mm long and has a tapering apex (photo 785).  The lobes are imbricate (having regularly arranged, overlapping edges), becoming recurved from above the base.  The 4 Stamens with their long white filaments and yellow anthers are clearly visible (unlike other Buddleja) and protrude impressively between and beyond the petal lobes (photo 785).  The protruding anthers have Theca (pollen sacs) that are distinct and almost parallel (photo 785).  Anthers are basifixed and pollen is shed through longitudinal slits.  The superior, 2-locular Ovary is hairy and contains a number of ovules.  (Aug-Jan).

Fruit

The very small ovoid, Fruit is about 2mm long and a pale yellowish brown.  It is a 2-lobed hairy dehiscent  Capsule (a dry fruit resulting from the maturing of a compound ovary that usually opens at maturity by one or more lines of dehiscence).  When mature it extends about half its length beyond the persistent calyx.  The small hairy capsules develop into dried out capsules and contain the minute Seeds.  They are oblong, compressed and have endosperm (the starch and oil-containing tissue of many seeds; often referred to as the albumen).  (Sep-Mar).

Distribution & Ecology

This plant is Endemic (endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location) in southern Africa and has the widest distribution of any of the Buddleja species in South Africa.  This plant occurs in all provinces in South Africa and is common near Johannesburg and Pretoria.  Distribution beyond South Africa includes the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe and is marginal in Swaziland.  The plant is often associated with forest margins e.g., in Knysna.  It can Grow up to an altitude of 1 700m in poor soils, on hot mountainsides, either away from, or close to water and is both cold and drought resistant.  This helps to account for its wide distribution and plants aid in soil stabilization.  The plant is quick growing – up to 1,5m per year.  Game browse the Leaves – which also recover quickly after a fire.  Insects are attracted to the plant and the Pollinating agents include moths.   These insects attract birds including the Robin-Chat (Cossypha heuglini) and Rudd’s apalis (Apalis ruddi).

Ethnobotany

Leaves are used to make tea.  The fine grained Wood is hard strong and durable but a bit small for furniture.  The heartwood is dark brown.  Wood has a high density (up to 0,98g per cubic cm) and will thus just float in fresh water.  It makes excellent fence poles, panga handles, fishing rods and small pieces of furniture.  The wood burns with an intense heat and makes a good fuel.  Seeds and cuttings grow well and quite quickly – especially in well-drained soil.  The plant is frost resistant and roots are not invasive.  A good garden prospect – growing in almost any soil with reasonable drainage with its non-aggressive Roots.  Pruning can provide a useful hedge and wind break.  It is also a good prospect for bonsai.  Parts of the plant (usually roots and leaves) are used in local medicine.  Bee farmers appreciate the large amount of pollen produced.

References

Boon, R. 2010. Pooley’s Trees of eastern South Africa. Flora and Fauna Publications Trust, Durban.

Coates Palgrave, M. 2002. Keith Coates Palgrave Trees of Southern Africa, edn 3. Struik, Cape Town.

Lawrence, G. H. M, 1951. Taxonomy of Vascular Plants. The Macmillan Company, New York. Tenth Printing 1965.

Palmer, E. & Pitman, N. 1972. Trees of southern Africa. Balkema, Amsterdam, Cape Town.

Schmidt, S. Lotter, M. & McCleland, W. 2002. Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and the Kruger National Park. Jacana, Johannesburg.

van Wyk, B. & van Wyk, P. 1997 Field guide to Trees of Southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town.

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/buddlesalig.htm

http://witkoppenwildflower.co.za/buddleja-saligna/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddleja_saligna

http://www.plantbook.co.za/buddleja-saligna/

http://witbos.co.za/plant.aspx?plant=buddleja-saligna

http://posa.sanbi.org/flora/browse.php?src=SP