Buddleja cordata is endemic to Mexico, growing along forest edges and water courses at elevations of 1500–3000 m; it has also naturalized in parts of Ethiopia.

[3] Buddleja cordata is a large deciduous dioecious shrub or tree < 20 m tall in the wild.

The terminal inflorescences are paniculate, 6–30 cm long with at least two orders of branches, the lowermost subtended by leaves, the uppermost by small bracts.

The small fragrant flowers are grouped into shortly pedunculate cymules, the corollas white, cream, or yellow, with a flush of orange at the throat, 1.5–2.5 long.

[5] The species (and the genus as a whole) contain secondary metabolites such as flavonoids and iridoid glycosides which have shown much promise in the treatment of cancers and a wide range of other disorders.