Janet Baraclough wrote:
Nope. The first Buddleia introduced in Britain was B. globosa, which
came from Chile, not China, in 1774.

I'll have to write to Sue Lamb and correct her on her 'A closer look
guide', on your behalf of course.... but perhaps not because in 1869,
Pere David indeed returned with the b.davidii, but in 1774 b.globosa
was NAMED, not discovered. This species wasn't grown here, merely
discovered but not cultivated and it's in 1774 that the buddleia was
named, in honour of Adam Buddle.

The latin name is derived from the names of two men: Adam
Buddle, a 17th century naturalist and Peter David, a French missionary
The French missionary's name was not Peter. It was Pere ("Father")
Armand David.

That Pere David is amazing - have you tried to google him? He
discovered so many things from the Davidia tree to the Pere David's
deer and Panda bears too!