Leaf
CocoPlante, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Fountain butterfly bush
Buddleja alternifolia Maxim.
Also known as: Alternate-leaved butterfly bush
Family: Scrophulariaceae
3 to 4 m tall
Planted as a specimen or informal hedge, ordinary well-drained soils
Flowering: May – June
Full sun
Hardy, to about -20°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Unlike most butterfly bushes, whose leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, the fountain butterfly bush gets its name from its leaves arranged one by one along the stem. 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
Deciduous, narrow, alternate (unlike other butterfly bushes, which have opposite leaves), grey-green
🌸 Flowers
Small, lilac-mauve, fragrant, grouped in small dense clusters all along the arching shoots of the previous year
🍎 Fruits
Small dry capsule
🪵 Bark
Greyish-brown, slender, drooping twigs
🗺️ Distribution
Native to China; planted in France as an ornamental shrub, less common than the common butterfly bush
🐝 Value for pollinators
Early, fragrant flowering, rich in nectar, attractive to bees and butterflies
✂️ Horticultural uses
Ornamental shrub with a graceful, drooping habit, flowering earlier than the common butterfly bush, pruned just after flowering
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No notable toxicity known
⚠️ Look-alike species
Fountain butterfly bush
Buddleja alternifolia
Butterfly bush
Buddleja davidii
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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