Leaf
Pato Novoa, Wikimedia · CC BY 2.0
Orange ball tree
Buddleja globosa Hope
Also known as: Globe butterfly bush, Orange ball buddleja
Family: Scrophulariaceae
2 to 4 m tall
Sunny borders and informal hedges, ordinary well-drained soil
Flowering: May – June
Full sun
Hardy to about -12°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Unlike its well-known cousin the butterfly bush with long purple spikes, this one gathers its flowers into small, perfectly spherical orange balls, hence its nickname 'honey tree' for their sweet scent.
🍃 Leaves
Semi-evergreen, opposite, lanceolate, dark green above, whitish and woolly beneath
🌸 Flowers
Small, orange-yellow, grouped in dense spherical balls borne in clusters
🍎 Fruits
Small dry capsules, barely visible
🪵 Bark
Brownish-grey, upright twigs
🗺️ Distribution
Native to Chile, Peru and Argentina; introduced to Europe as an ornamental shrub
🐝 Value for pollinators
Flowers rich in nectar with a honey scent, actively visited by bees and butterflies, like other butterfly bushes
✂️ Horticultural uses
Planted for its distinctive orange ball-shaped flower clusters, different from the long spikes of the common 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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