buddleia

American  

[buhd-lee-uh, buhd-lee-uh] / bʌdˈli ə, ˈbʌd li ə /

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.

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buddleia British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of buddleia

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

Example Sentences

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.

From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2022

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

From The Guardian • Nov. 22, 2019

Candidates include asters, Russian sage, caryopteris, lespedeza, buddleia and chrysanthemums.

From Washington Post • May 28, 2019

It's hard to walk by a railway line in Britain and not see buddleia.

From BBC • Jul. 14, 2014

At the foot of the garden, behind a clump of gooseberry-bushes, stood an arbour formed of a yellow buddleia.

From Australia Felix by Richardson, Henry Handel