buddleia

[buhd-lee-uh, buhd-lee-uh]

noun

1. any shrub belonging to the genus Buddleia, of the logania family, having opposite, lance-shaped leaves and clusters of flowers, comprising the butterfly bushes.

buddleia

/ ˈbʌdlɪə /

noun

1. Also called: butterfly bush. any ornamental shrub of the genus Buddleia , esp B. davidii , which has long spikes of mauve flowers and is frequently visited by butterflies: family Buddleiaceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of buddleia¹

< New Latin (Linnaeus), named after Adam Buddle (died 1715), English botanist; -ia

Word History and Origins

Origin of buddleia¹

C19: named after A. Buddle (died 1715), British botanist

Example Sentences

Certain species such as cow parsley, yarrow and knapweed are in fact spreading, and he welcomes an influx of non-native plants and "garden escapes", such as snowdrop and buddleia.

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Hummingbirds zipped in and out of a purple buddleia bush; Hugo, an eager-to-please Border collie, stretched out on the porch, smelling faintly of skunk.

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Edinburgh’s old Royal Infirmary has been abandoned for more than a decade, its doors boarded up, its gutters overgrown with buddleia and fireweed.

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Adults tend to feed on flowering plants and are often attracted to buddleia plants.

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Rather than roses and other highly bred ornamentals, monarch butterflies depend on flowers like daisies, asters and buddleia, a flowering plant commonly called butterfly bush.

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