Buddleja officinalis is a deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 early-spring flowering shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 native to west Hubei

Hubei

' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...

, Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

, and Yunnan

Yunnan

Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...

 provinces in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

  introduced to western cultivation in 1908.

In the UK it is often grown as a nectar source for vanessid

Vanessa (butterfly)

Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterflies. Many people are familiar with it, as it has a near-global distribution and includes conspicuous species such as the red admirals , the Kamehameha, and the painted ladies of subgenus Cynthia: Painted Lady, American Painted Lady, Australian Painted...

 butterflies such as the Peacock on emergence from hibernation

Hibernation

Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...

.

Description

B. officinalis largely resembles the commoner B. davidii

Buddleja davidii

Buddleja davidii , also called summer lilac, butterfly-bush, or orange eye, is a native of Sichuan and Hubei provinces in central China and of Japan. It is widely used as an ornamental plant, and many named varieties are in cultivation. B...

 in shape and size, growing to < 2.5 m in height. The honey-scented mauve

Mauve

Mauve is a pale lavender-lilac color, one of many in the range of purples. The color mauve is named after the mallow flower....

 inflorescences are shorter (< 8 cm) than those of davidii, and more conical. The leaves are lanceolate

Leaf shape

In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...

, < 15 cm long, softly pubescent and rich green in colour (grey underneath).

Cultivation

The shrub is not fully frost hardy, able to survive temperatures no lower than - 10° C

Celsius

Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

., and is best grown against a south-facing wall. The shrub should be cut back hard each year immediately after flowering in spring. Propagation by softwood cuttings is easily accomplished, using vermiculite

Vermiculite

Vermiculite is a natural mineral that expands with the application of heat. The expansion process is called exfoliation and it is routinely accomplished in purpose-designed commercial furnaces. Vermiculite is formed by weathering or hydrothermal alteration of biotite or phlogopite...

as a rooting medium.

Suppliers

B. officinalis is in commerce in Europe. UK nurseries stocking the plant can be found in the RHS Plantfinder
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantfinder2.asp?crit=buddleja&Genus=Buddleja.