Ireland: Kerry - Dublin - Cork - Waterford - Roscommon - Galway - Belfast
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Butterfly-bush
Invasive Species Information
What Is Butterfly-bush - Buddleja davidii?
Habitat: Terrestrial
Distribution in Ireland: Locally abundant in some places
Status: Established
Family name: Buddlejaceae
Reproduction: The honey-scented lilac to purple inflorescences are terminal panicles, < 20 cm long. Flowers are perfect (having both male and female parts), hence are hermaphrodite rather than monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant) as is often incorrectly stated. Numerous seeds are produced and distributed by wind and water.
Butterfly-bush Flower
Butterfly-bush leaves
The Butterfy-bush is a perennial shrub is able to grow just about anywhere; waste ground, embankments, even on the rooftops derelict buildings and, It is a shrub which branches from ground level.
From May to August it carries long, conical 4 lobbed pink, mauve. lilac, yellow or white flowers (3-4mm across) which have a small orange 'eye' which are strongly scented.
Butterfly-bushes are vigorous shrubs with an arching habit, growing to 5 m in height. The pale brown bark becomes deeply fissured with age.
The branches are quadrangular in section, the younger shoots covered in a dense indumentum.
The plant has lanceolate, opposite leaves (7–13 cm long) which are grey-green and has arching stems which are light coloured, appearing somewhat cracked. Butterfly-bushes are upright, multi-stemmed shrubs. In northern climates it will typically be killed back to the ground frosts.
How To Identify Butterfly-bush?
Leaf: Opposite, simple, ovate to lance shaped, finely serrated, 7-13 cm long, dark green above, white-fuzzy underlay.
Flower: Narrow, upright spikes of deep purple, pink, yellow or white, small individual flowers with four petals.
Fruit: Dry, two-valved capsules, ripen in late summer and autumn.
Stem/Twig: Moderately stout, very angled, initially green, turning light brown, large white pith, small buds.
Bark: Thin, brown, splitting and peeling.
Butterfly-bush - Buddleja davidii ID Guide
Why Is Butterfly-bush A Problem?
Butterfly bush is an invasive plant, meaning it out-competes and crowds out beneficial native plants that have been naturally growing for centuries.
In Ireland, butterfly bush, which has origins in Asia, readily spreads and takes over space where native plants would normally thrive. In fact, butterfly bush has life history traits that make it invasive in most environments.
Butterfly-bush Stem
European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 non-native invasive plant species A-Z (Updated 2017)
There are currently 35 invasive plant species listed in the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations (annex 2, Part 1)...
Click on a species from the following list to find out more regarding non-native species subject to restrictions under Regulations 49 and 50.
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American Skunk-Cabbage - Lysichiton americanus
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Red Alga - Grateloupia doryphora
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Wakame - Undaria pinnatifida
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Waterweeds - Elodea (all species)
Additional Non-Native Plant Species identified as Medium Risk on Ireland's Biodiversity List...
Common name
African woodsorrel
American skunk cabbage
Annual bur-sage
Antithamnionella ternifolia
Barberry
Black currant
Brazilian waterweed
Butterfly-bush
Canadian-fleabane
Clover broomrape
Creeping Bellflower
Dead man's fingers
Douglas fir
Early goldenrod
False acacia
Field penny-cress
Garden lupin
Giant rhubarb
Hairy rocket
Himalayan honeysuckle
Himalayan knotweed
Holm oak
Japanese barberry
Japanese honeysuckle
Japanese rose
Leafy spurge
Least duckweed
Narrow-leaved ragwort
New Zealand bur
Ostrich fern
Pampas grass
Pitcherplant
Red oak
Red sheath tunicate
Rock cotoneaster
Rum cherry
Russian-vine
Salmonberry
Sea-buckthorn
Sycamore
Three-cornered garlic
Traveler's-joy
Tree of heaven
Turkey oak
Virginia-creeper
Warty cabbage
Water fern
Wild parsnip
Species name
Oxalis pes-caprae
Lysichiton americanus
Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Antithamnionella ternifolia
Berberis vulgaris
Ribes nigrum
Egeria densa
Buddleja davidii
Conyza canadensis
Orobanche minor
Campanula rapunculoides
Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Solidago gigantea
Robinia pseudoacacia
Thlaspi arvense
Lupinus polyphyllus
Gunnera manicata
Erucastrum gallicum
Leycesteria formosa
Persicaria wallichii
Quercus ilex
Berberis thunbergii
Lonicera japonica
Rosa rugosa
Euphorbia esula
Lemna minuta
Senecio inaequidens
Acaena ovalifolia
Matteuccia struthiopteris
Cortaderia selloana
Sarracenia purpurea
Quercus rubra
Botrylloides violaceus
Cotoneaster horizontalis
Prunus serotina
Fallopia baldschuanica
Rubus spectabilis
Hippophae rhamnoides
Acer pseudoplatanus
Allium triquetrum
Clematis vitalba
Ailanthus altissima
Quercus cerris
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Bunias orientalis
Azolla filiculoides
Pastinaca sativa
Environment
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Risk score
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14
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14
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14
14
14
17
14
14
14
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15
17
17
14
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14
15