About Buddleja incana Ruiz & Pav.
Buddleja incana Ruiz & Pav. is a dioecious species that grows as a tree or shrub, reaching 4 to 15 meters in height. The base of its trunk measures less than 50 centimeters across, and its bark is brownish and furrowed. Its branches are subquadrangular, covered in tomentum, and grow to form a rounded crown. The species has coriaceous leaves that are mostly oblong in shape, measuring 7 to 21 centimeters long and 1 to 5 centimeters wide. The upper leaf surface is glabrescent, and often bullate or rugose, while the lower leaf surface is covered in white or yellowish tomentum. Its inflorescences are paniculate, range in color from yellow to orange, and have 2 to 3 orders of leafy-bracted branches. These branches bear heads 1 to 1.5 centimeters in diameter, each holding 15 to 40 individual flowers, with corollas 3 to 4 millimeters long. The ploidy of Buddleja incana is 2n = 76. This species is found in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. It grows in canyon bottoms alongside streams at elevations between 2,700 and 4,500 meters. In folk medicine, its leaves are used to treat toothache and as a diuretic.
