Leaf
Pierre Bonnet, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Butterfly bush
Buddleja davidii Franch.
Also known as: Buddleia, Summer lilac
Family: Scrophulariaceae
2 to 3 m tall
Wasteland, banks, gardens, any soil even poor
Flowering: July – September
Full sun
Hardy to -15°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Its nectar-rich flowers attract butterflies and bumblebees in numbers, hence its nickname. As their names suggest, the difference shows on the stem: leaves opposite (two by two, facing each other) in the common butterfly bush, alternate (one by one, staggered) in the fountain butterfly bush.
🍃 Leaves
Long, lanceolate, greyish green above, white-felted beneath
🌸 Flowers
Long conical spikes of small mauve, pink or white flowers, rich in nectar
🍎 Fruits
Small dry capsules containing numerous winged seeds.
🪵 Bark
Brownish-grey stems that grow fast and become woody with age
🗺️ Distribution
China; introduced and widely naturalised in France, notably on wasteland and along railway lines.
🐝 Value for pollinators
Flowers rich in nectar and much visited by many butterflies and other insects; the species can nevertheless become invasive locally, notably in urban areas or on wasteland.
✂️ Horticultural uses
Planted in borders or as a specimen for its spectacular summer flowering; regarded as invasive in some regions.
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity.
🌱 Known cultivars
Black Knight
The most recognisable butterfly bush: long, very fragrant panicles of dark purple, almost black, that attract butterflies in great numbers; the reference among dark-flowered butterfly bushes since the 1960s.
Pink Delight
Very dense bright pink panicles on a shrub more compact than the species; winner of the RHS AGM, highly sought after by gardeners to attract butterflies without taking up too much space.
⚠️ Look-alike species
Butterfly bush
Buddleja davidii
Fountain butterfly bush
Buddleja alternifolia
As their names suggest, the difference shows on the stem: leaves opposite (two by two, facing each other) in the common butterfly bush, alternate (one by one, staggered) in the fountain butterfly bush.
🌿 Other Scrophulariaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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