Buddleja salviifolia

These Buddleja salviifolia flowers were photographed in September in a garden in Onrus, near Hermanus. The lilac flowers are sweetly scented. The flower has a long narrow tube of up to 1 cm in length. The four narrow, oblong petal lobes spread at the corolla mouth. The blooming season begins at the end of winter, finishing before the end of spring.

The fruits to follow are ovoid capsules of about 5 mm in length. The bottom half of the fruit is clasped by the flower calyx while on the plant (Coates Palgrave, 2002; www.plantzafrica.com).