Sterniana is a variety of Buddleja crispa

Buddleja crispa

Buddleja crispa - sometimes called the Himalayan Butterfly Bush - is native to Afghanistan, Bhutan, North India, Nepal, Pakistan and China , where it grows on dry river beds, slopes with boulders, exposed cliffs, and in thickets, at an elevation of 1400 – 4300 m. Named by Bentham in 1835, B...

. Its origin is uncertain but, as it was originally collected by Forrest

George Forrest (botanist)

George Forrest was a Scottish botanist, who was one of the first explorers of China's then remote southwestern province of Yunnan, generally regarded as the most biodiverse province in the country....

, may reasonably be assumed to be from 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...

, 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...

. Seed was distributed in the UK by Reginald Cory in 1922.

Description

Var. sterniana 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...

 multistemmed 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...

 often growing to > 3 m high, when it can become straggly unless pruned hard. The faintly-scented flowers are pale lavender, with an orange eye, and arranged in small (< 6  cm long) panicles, which appear before the leaves on the previous year's growth, during April in the UK. The leaves are much smaller than those of the other three varieties of B. crispa: tibetica

Buddleja crispa var. tibetica

Tibetica is a xerophytic variety of Buddleja crispa discovered and collected in 1904 in the Llalung Valley , Tibet, by H. J. Walton, a member of the Tibet Frontier Commission, whilst travelling from Sikkim to Lhasa...

, agathosma

Buddleja crispa var. agathosma

Agathosma is a variety of Buddleja crispa found in China.-Description:Var. agathosma is a deciduous shrub of sparse habit which, left unpruned, grows to a large size...

, and farreri

Buddleja crispa var. farreri

Farreri is a variety of Buddleja crispa collected in Kansu, China, by Reginald Farrer in 1915. Seed was sent to the UK shortly afterwards, and it is from this consignment that all the British specimens have been derived.-Description:...

, but the undersides are typically covered with a white tomentum

Tomentum

Tomentum may refer to the following:*In botany, a covering of closely matted or fine hairs on plant leaves. *A network of minute blood vessels in the brain.* Tomentum in zoology are a short, soft pubescence...

.

Cultivation

The shrub was originally grown at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland — Edinburgh,...

, but by the Second World War only survived in the UK in the Chalk Garden

Highdown Gardens

Highdown Gardens is a garden on the western edge of the town of Worthing, close to the village of Ferring and the National Trust archaeological site Highdown Hill in West Sussex, England. Overlooking the sea from the South Downs the gardens contain a collection of rare plants and trees,...

 of the eponymous Colonel Stern in Worthing, Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

.
Softwood cuttings can easily be struck in June. The shrub now features in the NCCPG National Collection held by the Longstock Park Nursery, near Stockbridge

Stockbridge, Hampshire

Stockbridge is a small town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It has an acreage of and a population of little under 600 people according to the 2001 census in Hampshire, England. It lies on the River Test, in the Test Valley district and renowned for trout fishing. The A30 road goes through...

, in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Literature

• Bean, W. J. (1970). Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, 8th ed., Vol. 1.. (2nd impression 1976) London
• Brown, R. (ex C. Martius). (1996). Loganiceae, in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) Flora of China, Vol. 15. Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, USA. ISBN 10-193-072340-15 vol. 15 (1996): online at www.efloras.org
• Hillier's Manual of Trees & Shrubs, 5th ed.. (1990). David & Charles, Newton Abbot.
• Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. (1979) The Loganiaceae of Africa XVIII Buddleja L. II, Revision of the African & Asiatic species. H. Veenman & Zonen B. V., Wageningen, Netherlands.
• Stuart, D. (2006). Buddlejas. Timber Press, Oregon, USA. ISBN=9780881926880