Buddleja caryopteridifolia W.W.Sm. is a small deciduous shrub discovered by George Forrest in 1913 on open ground at 3,000 m on the Tong Shan in the Yangtze valley, China. The species was described and named by William Wright Smith in 1914.

Resembling B. crispa, it was sunk under this name by Leeuwenberg, although it remains recognized as a separate species in horticulture. It is likely that some specimens previously grown under this name at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh were actually Buddleja sterniana.