Kentucky Plant Atlas




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Scrophulariaceae (sensu stricto) Buddleja davidii
Buddleja davidii Franch.
ALI: AS HAB: n/a, n/a, C?, 5 ABU: n/a, n/a, 0
Although widely cultivated in gardens, as one of the most attractive flowers for butterflies (blooming from Jun to Sep), there are have been few reports of this Chinese shrub escaping to become invasive outside urban areas in eastern North America. However, it may be increasing in Appalachian regions (K, W). JC has recently collected a seedling at the edge of woods on a sandy ridge in PULA, and a flowering plant along the bed of Marble Creek in JESS. It also been found in PIKE (APSC, SE). The species is much more invasive in regions with damper summers or milder winters, especially urban areas of the Pacific Northwest and Western Europe. Some conservationists have argued that Buddleija in gardens should be replaced by native plants that provide a broader spectrum of benefits for native fauna than just nectar (e.g. Tallamy 2009). However, in Britain where the plant has become so common in urban areas for over a century (but rarely invading natural vegetation), Owen & Whiteway (1980) stated: "The shrub is in every sense a useful introduction, exploiting a previously unfilled niche, and its development of an associated fauna as well as the attractiveness of its flowers to nectar-feeding insects makes it a welcome addition to the British flora."