Plant Profile
Buddleja Saligna
Common names: False Olive
Plant Type :
Height :
Evergreen :
Indigenous :
Position :
Moisture :
Soil :
Wind :
Frost :
Tree
Up to 10 m
Evergreen
Indigenous
Full Sun
Little water
Well Drained Soil
Wind Resistant
Frost Resistant
Buddleja saligna, the false olive is almost endemic to South Africa where it has a wide distribution. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, growing from 4 - 10 m in height with a trunk diameter of 40 cm, and very similar to Salix and Olea.
It occurs most often in ravines and against outcrops, and is distributed from coastal elevations to the central plateau at elevations of < 2000 m.
Buddleja saligna is hardy and frost resistant. The shrub grows easily in well-drained soil, and is notably tolerant of drought.
Foliage
Colour :
Use :
Other :
Identification Tool :
Silver White , White , Cream , Cream Green , Light Green , Green , Dark Green
Oils , Beverages
- Leaf morphology
The opposite, subcoriaceous narrowly elliptic to linear leaves vary considerably in size and shape, from 1.2 – 15 cm long by 0.2 – 3 cm wide. The leaves are long and narrow - somewhat similar to the olive from which it gets its common name - but more textured.
The upper surface of the leaf is medium to dark green, glabrous and smooth, while the underside is clothed in pale stellate hairs with prominently raised venation.
Flower
Time : Colour :
Use :
Other :
Identification Tool :
Spring / Summer
White , Cream , Light Orange , Orange , Light Pink , Light Purple , Purple , Dark Purple , Lilac
- Flower morphology
The honey - scented flowers are cream or white, occasionally with a reddish orange throat, appearing as large terminal heads 12 cm × 12 cm in spring and summer; the corollas are 4 mm in length.
The large amounts of pollen and nectar it produces makes it popular with bee farmers.
NOTES
