Buddlija, more than just davidii

I knew about davidii, most people do
Then I learnt about globosa, seen less frequently
Recently I learnt about weyeriana, which I had assumed to be globosa, turns out its a cross.
What I hadnt realised is exactly how many species of Buddlija (or Buddleia or any of the spellings you learnt!) there actually are until I tried to find an ident on this chap

It was found in the most bizzare of settings, we hadnt seen anything other than alpines since the day before. The altitude was such that even the hardyiest of shrubbery had given up about a 100 Metres below us. We were walking up to our last mountain pass of my Peru trek and had reached around 3400 Metres or so. There was a small group of huts with a circular drystone wall off to one side, investigation showed it was being used to grow crops such as Maize and Brassicas mainly and off to one side there was this shrub.
In the pic below the settlement can be seen off to the bottom right

I remember thinking as I took the pic of it that maybe it was a Buddleja or even viburnum? Then a ridiculously busy couple of months of travelling, visiting gardens & people & life in general ensued before I could revist my Peru snaps and rediscover it.
Today I tweeted the pics looking for a positive ID & some clever folks said Buddleja, one chap has kindly put me onto a contact who may be able to help, I thought I'd have a quick look myself. After all there cant be that many options....
Turns out theres a few more than I expected...

 

Picture credits for above to plant illustrations.org

So how many are we actually talking about here?

7 genera
121 species

I had honestly thought 20 or 30, tops!
So I search "high altitude Buddleja"
I get this from Wikipedia
Buddleja loricata is a hardy evergreen shrub endemic to South Africa and Mozambique, where it grows on mountain slopes at elevations above 1,800 m. The shrub has only recently been introduced to cultivation in Europe.
Its definately not this...

Ok so how many in Peru, thats assuming its a native species?
Turns out there are 61 species that are classed as native to North and South America....oh...
Well globosa is a native but the leaves are all wrong plus the flower although roundish is a far brighter orange than any globosa I know of, they tend to be on the yellow side.
Theres an amazing one called Buddleja speciosissima which had I seen it I would never have suspected was a Buddleja!
So considering the flower is round(ish) whats within the Globosae series

First we have Buddleja araucana. Up until 2 minutes ago I would have assumed this was globosa, this is one of the reasons I like writing this blog I learn stuff in the process! Apparently they are easily confused and I'm now questioning my ident on every single globosa I've ever seen... Or thought I've seen...

Buddleja araucana By Buddlejagarden - Digital camera, June 3013 in my garden

Also known as Buddleja napii, it was introduced to England in 1925, by Harold Comber, as a form of globosa (which makes me feel slightly better). The major difference between the 2 is leaf size, globosa larger, and the leaves of globosa are less hairy. Also flower size, globosa tend to be larger. Not a huge help when viewed seperately but neither is a contender for our mystery plant, so onwards!

Our next possible contender is....

Buddleja aromatica,  this is a tough one, there is very little information on the web and no (that I can find) pictures. Theres a challenge if anyone wants to take it!

Syn's are B. andina, B. monocephela or B. tiraquiensis. 

Apparently the only known specimen held in the UK died but even despite this sketchy information I can rule this one out completely. Why? It has white flowers, how very considerate.

Next in the globosae series is....

Buddleja cordobensis, again not a lot of web based info on this suspect! There is a real gap in our knowledge here. If anyone wants to sponsor me to go find examples etc. I'd be up for the challenge... just saying...

So what is known?

First described in 1874 by August Grisebach there are no known examples growing in the UK. Its habitat is described as the dry hillsides of Argentina (around 700 to 1,500 M). Its thought to be closely related to B. aromatica & B.araucana

Due to its native location and the altitude it has been found at I'm going relatively confidently rule this one out.... notice the qualifier "relatively"...

Also, theres this...

B. cordobensis http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0307+0217

It kind of makes your mind up when you see an actual picture....

The last contender we've already mentioned and ruled out which is globosa itself.

So what of the other series?

Thrysoides - are mainly endemic to Brazil, some very rare.

Oblongae - consists of one plant, Buddleja oblonga, which is also native to Brazilian wetlands, unlikely just by habitat alone.

Stachyoides - cestriflora is rare and confined to Brazil.  B. grandiflora ruled out due to location and flower colour (yellow). B. hatsbatchii, longiflora speciosissima & misionum out due to rarity and location. Buddleja stachyoides could have been a contender but the pictures and description ruled it out. Buddleja tubiflora looks all wrong.

Anchoenses - another series with one member, Buddleja anchoensis, is all wrong, wrong flower, wrong leaf etc...

Buddleja anchoensis (Photo by Peter Podaras)

This list could become a real bore if I was to go through every one of the next 50 or so plants and trust me I did!
Glomeratae has 7 members
Brachiatae has 7 members
Lanatae has a frugal 4
Scordiodesis even smaller with just 2

None of which fit the bill for my unknown variety!


Buddleja (= Leeuwenberg’s Section: Buddleja) has 3 members...
On reading this I wondered who exactly Leeuwenberg was, im sure your'e thinking the same.... or maybe its just me? Anyway I went and found out. Turns out he is a botanist who is responsible for doing a lot of work on the classification of Buddlija's amongst other plants. Anthonius Josephus Maria "Toon" Leeuwenberg so far as I can asertain is one of those rare botanist chaps who didnt die a hundred years ago, the last reference I can find to him dates to 2010 so its entirely possible he's still alive and kicking... somewhere...

Verticillatae has just 2 members

and so we reach the catagory that showed some promise as far as my mystery Buddlija! (which is fortunate as its the last catagory in our native South American series)
Cordatae - a Latin adjective meaning heart-shaped
Buddleja bullata although ticking the elevation and location boxes falls down on the flower colour description and leaf shape.

Buddleja cardanesii I couldnt find a picture for this but by going just on its description can be ruled out. Although the elevation makes it a possible the location, Cochabamba in Bolivia, rules it out. Everything else makes it a contender though. Also it has a few close cousins, which may later prove when DNA testing gets round to it, to be seperated just by location and a small difference in leaf shape. B. soratae &  B. multiceps

Specimen from Peru http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/vrrc/?page=view&id=62869&PHPSESSID=b85

The above image is of B. multiceps and was collected in Peru, based on this I doubt its our contender.

 Buddleja cordata kindly rules itself out on first sight as it has lovely creamy white flowers.

 Buddleja euryphylla, Buddleja ibarrensis, Buddleja lojensis, Buddleja longifolia, Buddleja megalocephala, Buddleja nitida, Buddleja parviflora, Buddleja pichinchensi, Buddleja rufescens, Buddleja skutchii are all ruled out due to Lacation, altitude or flower colour, leaf shape etc.

This leaves us with B.incana, B.montana and B.vexansI shall let you decide if you think they are worthy of further consideration because i prefer the one below as the favourite..

So we come to what i think is our strongest contender!

Saving the best till last I bring you Buddleja coriacea 

Buddleja coriacea (Photo by Noel Kingsbury)

fm1.fieldmuseum.org

If you can help in any way naming my example I would be delighted to hear from you!

If you'd like to send me on a field trip to gather more data on this much understudied Genus i'd be over the moon! What? Well if you dont ask you don't get *Huge Grin*

I hope this has at least been interesting and opened your eyes to the massive diversity within this Genus, it certainly has mine. Thanks for taking the time to read.

I used several websites for reference which are posted as links below

fieldmuseum.org plantguides genus=Buddleja

fieldmuseum.org

revolvy.com

And most useful on this occasion...

buddlejagarden.co.uk

Peru or bust for Marie Curie and for Mum

Forgive the departure from my usual plant based blogs and please take a moment to read my story of how im raising money for an amazing charity, Marie Curie, and why....

Last training walk at Stokenchurch Gap, southside (about 6 Miles)

This idea started in August 2010, my Mum and I sat on her bed making plans for the future. A future that sadly didnt happen, you see Mum had Ovarian Cancer, she had first started showing signs of it in August of 2008, saying she felt bloated, had stomach ache. She never really complained it just wasn't her style so we encouraged her to go to the docs.

Family holiday in 2008, Mum & Dad

She was at first told it was "her age" 67 at the time. Then crohn's disease, she was given a diagnosis of Diverticular just before I left Garden Organic. I remember buying her 2 books on the subject which recommended diets etc. that would be helpful, thinking id post them when i got back off holiday. I never did, ive still got them.
Anyway, I started my new job, incredibly self involved & focused on what I was doing, as we all get sometimes, I hadnt realised mums normal pattern of phonecalls and texts had ceased. Until one morning my Dad called me. Mum had been rushed into hospital and they were operating on her. He didnt know if she would get through it. Her weight had dropped from around 10 stone at xmas to just 5 1/2, it was May 2009.
She got through it, by the time I arrived in Durham she was awake and we could see her. The sight of all those tubes and banks of monitors is one that i'll never forget, seeing this strong, bubbly lady a tiny shell of herself in that bed.

Mum and me messing about Xmas 2009

Anyway, she fought every step of the way, got through chemo, adjusted to a new way of life and we celebrated xmas 2009 together. She wasnt losing but she wasnt winning either and in July of 2010 she started a second round of Chemo. I couldn't (and if im honest still can't) believe she wouldn't win. She would always say "Theres no such word as can't" she would push me to follow my dreams, to never limit myself. I just couldn't prepare myself for her not being able to win this battle.

She was one of the reasons i became a gardener, she instilled my love of horticulture, of plants. She taught me so much, i used the Latin names before the common names because thats what i was taught from an early age. She gave us our own patch in the garden where we grew veg and raised plants from seed. She was a flower arranger, she won competitions just as a hobby, she was SO much more than just my Mum though.
She raised money for charity, volunteered at a hospice, formed a splinter group of the W.I. She had a huge social circle who she kept in contact with and who loved her dearly. She was the person in our family who made sure that spread out as we were we never lost contact. She worked at Warden Hill Junior School in Luton for as many years as i can remember till she retired, she remembered almost every child she came into contact with during that time, their mums, who they were friends with and not. She loved people and it shone through in everything she did.
She was an amazing Mum to have and for that I will always be grateful and for the people who made it possible for us to have her at home in those last few weeks its time for me to say thank you in the best way I possibly can. By raising the cash to make it possible for other families to have that same luxury.

This is how it all came about at the end of August 2010, mum loved travelling, a late starter her first trip abroad was to Australia. She had climbed glaciers, sailed up fjords, sat in the sun drinking Madera wine and been up volcanoes. In 10 years she went to more places than most people see in a lifetime! We sat there making plans on where we would go when she was better. One that we both kept coming back to as we both had a love of ancient ruins was Machu picchu, she knew how ill she was but she also knew i hadn't accepted it at this point so she humoured me. She made me promise to go and send her back all the photo's, to tell her all about it. I tried to persuade her that we would do it together, that she would be well enough to do the trek, even if she wasnt that there were other ways it could be done.
Anyway, the promise was made. Less than 2 weeks later she was gone.

6 years passed, I often thought of the promise id made but as life often goes the time never seemed right. In between I visited Nepal, my first trip abroad. Then Barcelona, then Rhodes.

Swayambu, Kathmandu, Nepal 2011

Parc Guell, Barcelona, 2012

Lindos Acropolis, Rhodes, 2013

Then things changed in my life and i didnt go anywhere for a while, until the week of my birthday in 2015. I was scrolling Facebook and there was an advert for Marie Curie. Trek to Machu Picchu and raise money for them. Honestly it felt like a sign, so i checked it out, i had some savings, enough to pay for the registration and other costs involved and in one of my amazing leap before I look moments id commited myself to raising £3750.00 on behalf of Marie Curie. I figured, how hard could it be?
I had no idea!
Cue a small montage....

 My first attempt was giving a tour of my work place at the time with the kind help of Quentin Stark, the Head Gardener of Hole park, to the All Horts group. A suggested donation of a fiver to include Tea/Coffee & homemade (by my fair hands) cakes went down a treat and i was honoured that so many made the trek down to deepest darkest Kent. Most people actually donated more than a fiver (some, mentioning no names, forgot totally... ahem) which was amazing!

Then i bludgeoned my workmates repeatedly by selling them slices of homemade cake.... at a £1.00 for a large slice of "Death by Chocolate" they did willingly hand over cash though, very generous and appreciated!

I have some amazingly generous friends too who have supported me so much emotionally and practically on this venture. One couple in particular have auctioned concert tickets, baked and sold cakes and helped me enormously in fundraising and fully deserve their names in print and thats Nicole & Adam, you guys are awesome! Also Jo, Pete, Chris, jim for repeated donations and being a cheerleader squad, andy & nat for finding some amazing walks and so many people who have helped by donating massive amounts and helped get the word out by either retweeting or sharing posts on Facebook etc, Thank you all!

In March i also recevied permits and official gear to go and shake my money maker on the street legally, so i grabbed the chance to dress as a daffodil and did so repeatedly!

Tring bothering on a cold day, Thank you people of Tring!

Mugging the All Horts for donations! Thank you guys, much love!

I also started training myself up, i consider myself to be reasonably fit but i decided to actually push myself further, starting with how many cigarettes i smoke. The ultimate aim is to give up completely but i have managed to drop from over 20 a day to at worst around 10 a day, most days about 6 or 7 and a few notably awesome days 5 or under. For someone who has smoked for 28 years im kinda happy with that. Of course im still trying to stop completely, and i will, but im not beating myself up about not being there yet!
I also started walking some more challenging walks, the steps at Cliveden NT providing one of my challenges (twice!) and also some fun stuff....

Fun in the woods! I found a bear....

Cliveden NT, view from the terrace

Cliveden's stairs from the bottom

Cliveden's stairs from the top

Posing with the foxes in Regents park

View from the top of Primrose Hill

View from the top of Primrose Hill

Dancing for 10 Hrs straight is a kind of training... Right?

1/2 way through the walk at Sherborne pond by Silent pool of Agatha Christie fame

The tranquil Sherborne Pond

View from the vineyard at the bottom of the Surrey Hills

View from the top of the surrey hills

Not to mention all the miles walked around gardens, along canals etc. or lengths swum in swimming pools!

The fundraising though...

At this point what seemed like an impossible task, which i was beginning to doubt i could achieve, suddenly became much more doable as the total jumped from here....

to here....

AMAZING!!!

Now with just 4 days to go till i set off the total is.....

You did this! All you wonderful people who gave whatever you could afford, you have made it possible for a family stay together at one of the hardest moments they will ever face. Thank you!
Now just £308.00 short of the final target im going to ask once more if you can help. Please if you havent already, please even if its just a pound take a moment to click on this link below
justgiving.com LouNicholls2015
and make a families wish to keep their loved one safe at home come true
or
Via your mobile phone!
Text GRLN99 £5 (or whatever amount you can spare) to 70070

In return i will try my best to make you and mum proud by walking tall along the Inca trail, climbing to over 4000ft, taking pictures all the way. I cant send them to mum anymore or tell her the story of how it went but i can tell you!

I'll leave you with some pics of how i like to remember my mum a wonderful wife, mother & friend. This is who we are doing this for, thank you X