Buddleja × whiteana is a hybrid of "Buddleja alternifolia" and "Buddleja asiatica" made at the Blandy Experimental Farm, Boyce, VA, USA, in 1948 by R.J.Moore. The plant was named for Orlando E. White, Director of Botany at Blandy. However, the taxonomy of the plant is a matter of contention, the RBG Kew "Plantlist" treating the status of its name as 'unresolved'. 
The plant named for Orlando E. White is controversial.