Butterfly bush
Buddleja davidii Franch.

SOURCE: The following information on this species is taken from Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, at http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/. Check the website links for future updates. The last update for this information is 2002.

DESCRIPTION: Butterfly bush species from Asia and Central America are popular ornamental plants widely used to attract butterflies. There are more than 100 species of Buddleja worldwide and additional cultivars are being developed. Buddleja species are currently found throughout the eastern, southern and western states. Butterfly bush can escape from plantings and become invasive in a variety of natural habitats such as coastal forest edges, roadsides, abandoned railroads, rural dumps, stream and river banks and some disturbed habitats. Buddleja displace native plants. It spreads by seed that is produced in abundance and dispersed by the wind.

Photo: Britt Slattery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

NATIVE ALTERNATIVES: butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), blazing star (Liatris spicata), New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)

For more information on butterfly bush, please contact:
Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, Inc., http://www.ma-eppc.org
National Invasive Species Information Centerl, http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov
Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/
USDA - NRCS PLANTS Database, http://plants.usda.gov/

Management and Control Information

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