Life's Colors copyright Mary Lee Parker 17,
by MaryLee Parker
Title
Life's Colors copyright Mary Lee Parker 17,
Artist
MaryLee Parker
Medium
Painting
Description
Lantana is a beautiful, easy to grow garden plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It has beautiful colorful flowers that are very tropical-looking and attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The flowers typically change color as they mature, resulting in inflorescences that are two- or three-colored. Lantana is a tough, drought tolerant, long blooming plant. Lantana is commonly found along roadsides, fence rows, and in fields in Florida and southern California where it escaped cultivation. In the northern U.S., it is strictly a garden and greenhouse annual.
Most of the plants sold as lantana are either Spanish flag (species of section Lantana and their hybrids, including Lantana camara, Lantana depressa, Lantana hirsuta, Lantana horrida, L. splendens, L. strigocamara, etc.), or trailing lantana, which gives blue (or white) flowers all year round (Lantana montevidensis). Some species are invasive, and are considered to be noxious weeds, such as in South Asia, Southern Africa and Australia.
In this article we’ll talk mainly about Lantana camara. Gardeners either love or hate this plant. Really comes to mind a saying: “one man’s weed is another man’s flower” 🙂 Seems, those below USDA zone 8 love it and those south of it (especially in Florida) find it to be a pest. In many areas it has become an invasive species and established itself as a notorious weed. But it is not invasive north of zone 8 and is considered a perennial only from zone 8 and south.
Lantana camara flowers come in many different colors including red, yellow, white, pink and orange which differ depending on location in inflorescences, age, and maturity. After pollination occurs the color of the flowers change (typically from yellow to orangish, pinkish, or reddish), this is believed to be a signal to pollinators that the pre-change color contains a reward as well as being sexually viable, thus increasing pollination efficiency.
Lantana camara can survive in a wide range of climatic conditions, including drought, different soil types, heat, humidity and salt. This is a perfect plant for very hot porches and decks that have full sun. Flowers look fresh even in the long days of summer, when nothing else is blooming.
If you decide to grow Lantana in your garden, make sure you know that this plant is poisonous. Foliage and ripe berries contain the toxic substances with the toxins being in higher concentrations in the green berries. Cattle, sheep, horses, dogs, guinea pigs, and rabbits can be affected if they eat the plant.
Lantana berries look like blackberries so warn small children NOT to eat them (read more about Lantana’s toxicity below).
In spite of some negative reviews, many gardeners love this plant and grow an old fashion Lantana in their yards and gardens, just like my Grandma and other country folks use to have. The old wild variety have flowers with multiple colors and called “Ham & Eggs” as it has the same colors that can be found when staring into a plate of ham and eggs. 🙂 That is the only name you could hear the old country people called this bush.
There is also a discussion about Lantana’s smell. What does it smell to you? (please comment in the comments box below the article)
The main uses of this plant have historically been medicinal and ornamental. CopyrightMary Lee Parker 17,
Studies conducted in India have found that Lantana leaves can display antimicrobial, fungicidal and insecticidal properties. L. camara has also been used in traditional herbal medicines for treating a variety of ailments, including cancer, skin itches, leprosey, rabies, chicken pox, measles, asthma and ulcers. Extracts from the plant have also been used to treat respiratory infections in Brazil.
Interesting facts: The Soliga, Korava and Palliyar tribal people of the MM Hills in southern Karnataka, India 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.
Common names: Common Lantana, Lantana, Yellow Sage, Shrub Verbena, Big Sage (Malaysia), Wild sage, Red Sage, White Sage (Caribbean) and Tickberry (South Africa),
Family: Verbenaceae
Genus: Lantana
Species: camara
Synonyms: Lantana aculeata, Lantana armata, Lantana mista, Camara vulgaris
Cultivars: Irene, Christine and Dallas Red (all tall-growing cultivars), Alba, Miss Huff (more cold-tolerant), New Gold
Native: tropical Americas and West Africa, but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region.
Plant type: Shrubs or Trailers. Annuals, Tropicals and Tender Perennials. A tender perennial treated as an annual in colder climates.
Hardiness: USDA zone 7 – 11
Light: Full Sun, Partial Sun
Soil: Sand, Loam, Mildly Acidic, Neutral, Mildly Alkaline, Well-Drained.
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April 7th, 2017
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