The tag that came with this when I bought it lists it as Buddleia x weyeriana 'Bicolor' but in the ATP database it is Buddleja davidii. Would there be two different Bicolor butterfly bushes out there?

I only found one Buddleja x weyeriana listed in the database ('Honeycomb') so I guess a new entry needs to be made for 'Bicolor'.

I wouldn't put much stock in the tag. First of all, it misspells Buddleja as "Buddleia," and B. x weyeriana is a name that has been disputed. It's not recognized as an accepted name by the Catalogue of Life.

We cross posted, Lin. I'd better correct the Honeycomb entry to remove the x weyeriana from the name.

So, would Jennifer's plant actually be Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii 'Bicolor') ??

Yes, it would be the same plant as the plant in that entry. I'm not sure about the davidii in that name. B. x weyeriana was published and described in 1920 as a hybrid species: B. davidii x B. globosa. The status of the name was subsequently disputed, and it looks as though it has been ruled out as an accepted species name. If 'Bicolor' is a hybrid of two species, the species name doesn't belong in the title of the entry.

Grrr, so frustrating! This is one of the reasons I keep getting stopped on entering my plants in the data base here. Mind you I am not frustrated with you Zuzu!

I realize that the Catalogue of Life is a source trying to create one coherent, cohesive world wide taxonomy.

But for me the average gardener I'm going to the web to check stuff out. In this instance when I go search primarily what I come up with is Buddleja x weyeriana..... the scientific name popping up over and over for Honeycomb too. Why have I never ever seen a link pop up for the Catalogue of Life with the "accepted name"?

So I guess instead of just searching the web I should just go straight to the Catalogue of Life. Can anyone access it? Or do I have to sign up and pay to access it?

jvdubb said:Grrr, so frustrating! This is one of the reasons I keep getting stopped on entering my plants in the data base here.

When I'm trying to match a named cultivar I have with the plant in the database, I usually forget about the species altogether and just search for genus,cultivar and that brings it up. Invariably the species name on the tag I have never matches the actual species in the database, for all the reasons you know about.

Jennifer, the Catalogue of Life is free to anyone wishing to use it, but it doesn't list cultivars. It lists only genera and species. That's why you won't see it pop up in a search for a cultivar. It also wouldn't have popped up if you searched for Buddleja x weyeriana because that name is not listed in the catalogue.

zuzu said:Jennifer, the Catalogue of Life is free to anyone wishing to use it, but it doesn't list cultivars. It lists only genera and species. That's why you won't see it pop up in a search for a cultivar. It also wouldn't have popped up if you searched for Buddleja x weyeriana because that name is not listed in the catalogue.

Oh yeah! Duh! That makes sense!!

Okay, I'm just going to have to endlessly bug you Data Base gurus!

Thank you for your help!

Bug away endlessly, Jennifer!