''Lantana'' () is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of about 150

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

s in the

verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...

family,

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The ...

. They are native to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

but exist as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

in numerous areas, especially in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n- Pacific region, South and Northeastern part of India. The genus includes both

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

plants and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

s growing to tall. Their common names are shrub verbenas or lantanas. The generic name originated in

Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...

, where it refers to the unrelated '' Viburnum lantana''. Lantana's aromatic

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

clusters (called

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

s) are a mix of red, orange, yellow, or blue and white

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

s. Other colors exist as new varieties are being selected. The flowers typically change color as they mature, resulting in

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

s that are two- or three-colored. "Wild lantanas" are plants of the unrelated genus '' Abronia'', usually called "sand-verbenas".

Ecology

Some species are invasive, and are considered to be

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or li ...

s, such as in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

and

. In the United States, lantanas are naturalized in the southeast, especially coastal regions of

the Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nor ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, and the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

. The spread of lantana is aided by the fact that their leaves are poisonous to most animals and thus avoided by herbivores, while their fruit is a delicacy for many

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, including the yellow-fronted white-eye of

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of ...

, the

superb fairy-wren The superb fairywren (''Malurus cyaneus'') is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and territorial species, also exhibiting a high degree of se ...

in Australia, the

scaly-breasted munia The scaly-breasted munia or spotted munia (''Lonchura punctulata''), known in the pet trade as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch, is a sparrow-sized estrildid finch native to tropical Asia. A species of the genus ''Lonchura'', it was formally descr ...

, and the

Mauritius bulbul The Mauritius bulbul (''Hypsipetes olivaceus''), is a songbird belonging to the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to Mauritius. Taxonomy and systematics The Mauritius bulbul was the type species of the obsolete genus ''Ixocincla'', ...

in the Mascarenes; these distribute the seeds and thereby unwittingly contribute to the degradation of their home

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

Biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also i ...

of introduced lantanas has been attempted, without robust success. In Australia, about 30 insects have been introduced in an attempt to control the spread of lantanas, and this has caused problems of its own. The lantana bug ('' Aconophora compressa'') for example is a

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

species introduced in 1995 that feeds on dozens of plants, and not only has it failed to have a noticeable impact on the lantana population, it has even become a pest in horticulture, parasitizing the related fiddlewoods ('' Citharexylum''). The small ''Lantana''-feeding

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s '' Epinotia lantana'' and '' Lantanophaga pusillidactyla'', while not becoming pests, have nonetheless failed to stem the spread of the invasive weed, as has the lantana scrub-hairstreak

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

('' Strymon bazochii'') which was introduced to control lantanas on the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

. Other

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...

whose

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...

s feed on lantana species include the common splendid ghost moth (''

Aenetus ligniveren ''Aenetus ligniveren'', the common splendid ghost moth, is a moth in the family Hepialidae. It is found from southern Queensland to Tasmania. The wingspan is 50 mm for males and 70 mm for females. Adult males have green forewings ...

)'', '' Aenetus scotti'', '' Endoclita malabaricus'', ''Hypercompe orsa'' and the setaceous Hebrew character (''Xestia c-nigrum''). The swamp wallaby (''Wallabia bicolor'') is one of the few

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

s that eat lantana leaves without apparent ill effect. Lantanas are useful as honey plants, and Spanish flag ('' L. camara''), ''L. lilacina'' and ''L. trifolia'' are sometimes planted for this purpose, or in butterfly gardening. Butterflies which are attracted to lantana flowers are most notably

Papilioninae Papilioninae is a subfamily of the butterfly family Papilionidae. Papilioninae are found worldwide, but most species are distributed in the tropics. There are roughly 480 species, of which 27 occur in North America. Tribes This subfamily cons ...

(swallowtail and birdwing butterflies).

Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...

(skippers) and certain brush-footed butterflies (namely Danainae and Heliconiinae), as well as some

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in L ...

(e.g. cloudless sulphur, '' Phoebis sennae''),

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterf ...

(e.g. the aforementioned lantana scrub-hairstreak), and

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

(e.g. ''

Greta oto ''Greta oto'' is a species of brush-footed butterfly and member of the subfamily Danainae, tribe Ithomiini, and subtribe Godyridina. It is known by the common name glasswing butterfly for its transparent wings, which allow it to camouflage witho ...

'') also like to visit the plants' flowers. Consequently, as total eradication of ''Lantana'' seems often impossible, it may in many cases be better to simply remove plants with immature (green) fruit to prevent them from spreading. Monarch_Butterfly_-_Danaus_plexippus_(5890526585)

Monarch_Butterfly_-_Danaus_plexippus_(5890526585)

Some

weaverbird Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called weavers, weaverbirds, weaver finches and bishops. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifi ...

s such as the black-throated weaver (''Ploceus benghalensis'') and the

streaked weaver The streaked weaver (''Ploceus manyar'') is a species of weaver bird found in South Asia and South-east Asia in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri L ...

(''P. manyar'') highly value ''Lantana'' flowers for decorating their nests. An ability to procure spectacular and innovative decorations appears to be desired by females, and consequently is an indicator of the males' fitness. In Australia it has been found that removing Lantana from urban greenspaces can have negative impacts on bird diversity locally, as it provides refuge for species like the superb fairy (''Malurus cyaneus'') and silvereye (''Zosterops lateralis'') in the absence of native plant equivalents. There seems to be a density threshold in which too much Lantana (thus homogeneity in vegetation cover) can lead to a decrease in bird species richness or abundance. ''

Ceratobasidium cornigerum ''Ceratobasidium cornigerum'' is a species of fungus in the order Cantharellales. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are thin, spread on the substrate out like a film (effused) and web-like. An anamorphic state is frequently obtained when isolates are ...

'' is a higher fungus which parasitizes ''Lantana'' among other plants. The sweet potato whitefly (''Bemisia tabaci'') is a common

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

pest and is often distributed with infested lantanas. ''Lantana'' species, especially ''L. camara'', contain pentacyclic triterpenoids that cause hepatotoxicity and photosensitivity when ingested by grazing animals such as

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

bovines Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwe ...

, and

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s. This has led to widespread

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

loss in the United States, South Africa, India, Mexico, and Australia.

Uses

''Lantana'' species are widely cultivated for their flowers in

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

environments and (as an

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...

) in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

climates. Most of the plants sold as lantana are either Spanish flag (species of section ''Lantana'' and their hybrids, including '' L. camara'', '' L. depressa'', '' L. hirsuta'', '' L. horrida'', '' L. splendens'', '' L. strigocamara'', etc.), or trailing lantana ('' L. montevidensis''). Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s of the Spanish flag exist, including 'Irene', 'Christine' and 'Dallas Red' (all tall-growing cultivars) and several recently introduced shorter ones. The shorter cultivars may flower more prolifically than the taller ones. '' Lantana montevidensis'' gives blue (or white) flowers all year round. Its foliage is dark green and has a distinct odor. Although lantanas are generally hardy and, being somewhat

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a sub ...

, usually rejected by

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

s, they may still become infested with

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

. The edibility of ''Lantana'' berries is contested. Some experts claim ''Lantana''

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, ras ...

are edible when ripe though like many other kinds of fruit, they are mildly

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ous if eaten while still green. Other experts claim that experimental research indicates that both unripe and ripe ''Lantana'' berries are potentially lethal, despite the claims by others that ripe berries are not poisonous. Extracts of ''

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family ( Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introdu ...

'' may be used for protection of cabbage against the

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

Lipaphis erysimi ''Lipaphis erysimi'' is a species of aphid of the family Aphididae. Its common names include mustard aphid and turnip aphid. It is found in most temperate and tropical areas of the world and feeds only on cruciferous plants. The insects are alm ...

''. The Soliga, Korava and Palliyar tribal people of the MM Hills in southern

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

use lantana to produce roughly 50 different products. It is considered a "near match" to highly priced alternatives, cane and bamboo. Furniture made from lantana is resistant to sun, rain, and termite damage.

Species

The following species are recognised by ''

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant species ...

'': *'' Lantana achyranthifolia'' Desf. * ''Lantana'' × ''aculeata'' L. *'' Lantana alainii'' Moldenke *'' Lantana amoena'' Ridl. *'' Lantana angolensis'' Moldenke *'' Lantana angustibracteata'' Hayek *'' Lantana angustifolia'' Mill. *'' Lantana aristeguietae'' Moldenke * ''Lantana'' × ''bahamensis'' Britton *'' Lantana balansae'' Briq. *'' Lantana balsamifera'' Britton *'' Lantana buchii'' Urb. *'' Lantana caatingensis'' Moldenke *''

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Verbenaceae genera