Buddleja alata is endemic to western Szechuan, China, growing at elevations of 1,300–3,000 m; it was first described and named by Rehder and Wilson in 1913. Leeuwenberg found the plant to be such a perfect intermediate of "Buddleja albiflora" and "Buddleja nivea" as to consider it a hybrid of the two species.
Buddleja alata was not described or named before 1913.