Buddleja grandiflora

Buddleja grandiflora is a shrub 1 – 2 m high, and unlike most South American members of the genus, is hermaphroditic, not dioecious. The young branches are subquadrangular, and covered with a white tomentum, bearing leaves subsessile or with a petiole < 1 cm, narrowly lanceolate, 5 – 10 cm long by 1 – 2.5 cm wide, membranaceous, tomentose or glabrescent above, and lanose below. The yellow inflorescence is 5 – 15 cm long, comprising two orders of branches. The sessile perfect flowers are borne in pairs of cymes, each with 1 – 6 flowers. The tubular corolla is 10 – 12 mm long. Unusually, the spongy seeds have buoyancy cells at their bases enabling them to float and withstand flooding. The species is closely related to B. cestriflora, B. stachyoides, B. tubiflora, and B. hatschbachii.