Family: Scrophulariaceae

Buddleja madagascariensis owes its species name to its native land, Madagascar. Commonly called smoke bush, B. madagascariensis emits an invisible substance that agitates lungs and allergies. It has escaped cultivation and is invading damp areas at middle elevations. This aggressive shrub is on the Hawaiʻi Department of Forestry and Wildlife’s list, Hawaiʻi’s Most Invasive Horticultural Plants”. It is an eradication target for the Big Island Invasive Species Committee.

Smokebush is recognized as an invasive species in Florida, Australia, South Africa, and in the Caribbean.

Description and Dispersal:

• A sprawling shrub up to 9 ft tall with s dense sprawling habit
  
• Gray-green leaves 3 - 5 in long
  
• Clusters of small, orange, fragrant flowers (up to 10 in long); white fleshy fruit becomes purple at maturity
  
• Present on Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui, and Big Island
  
• Seeds spread by birds