AFRICAN BUTTERFLY BUSH

Rotheca myricoides (butterfly bush – also a name for Buddleja species) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to Africa and widely cultivated elsewhere. In cultivation, it is frequently known by one of its synonyms, such as Clerodendrum myricoides.

Rotheca myricoides is native to mountains from Eritrea to South Africa. It is native to Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Caprivi Strip, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eswatini, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. It was introduced to Trinidad-Tobago, Australia, Brazil.

MorphologyEdit

FlowersEdit

The flowers are arranged in dichasial cymes and are sometimes arranged in short-pedunculate panicles. The stamens and styles are long-exserted and curve upwards. The corolla is asymmetrical in the bud and they have a mid-lobe dark blue or violet blue while the lateral lobes are pale blue or mauve. The calyx is bud-shaped with a tube of 5mm long and the lobes rounded to triangular.

Lots of variation in the flower colour. It can be green and blue or mauve, white and blue, or blue to mauve.^[

FruitsEdit

The fruits of this species are 5-6 by 8–10 mm in dimension and are mostly deeply 4-lobed.

LeavesEdit

The leaf outline is mostly ovate to rhomboid. The outline can sometimes be elliptic or obovate. The leaf margin is dentate or deeply lobed. The indumentum of the leaves can be variable. There is often a hairy upper surface and can be sparsely to densely hairy on the lower surface. It has been described to feel velvety. When the leaves are crushed, there is an unpleasant scent. This may be due to the pelate hairs or pelate glands on the leaves. The leaves are opposite are whorls of 3–4. The petiole is 0–24 mm long.

BranchesEdit

The young branches are normally angular, pale greyish-whitish and using with white lenticels. They are hairy, mostly at the growth points. The arrangement of the main branches are normally opposite. There are prominent leaf scars on the branches as well. The branches can be 4-angled and brownish-red towards the apex. The lateral branches are short, leafy and flowering.

References

Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). "Rotheca myricoides". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.

FAMILY | LAMIACEAE

 ITIS.

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