Lantana camara

Lantana camara L.

Common Names: Lantana, Red Sage Brush, Big Sage

Family: Verbenaceae

Habit: Lantana camara grows as a slightly pubescent shrub up to 3 m in height. The pubescent leaves are arranged oppositely, up to 12 cm long and 8 cm wide, with and acute leaf apex, crenate leaf margins, and an attenuate leaf base.

The perfect, complete, zygomorphic flowers are arranged in a cymose fashion with involucral bracts.   Each flower is subtended by a bract. The calyx has 4 fused greenish sepals.  The corolla has 4 fused petals that range in color from orange to yellow to red to pink within the same inflorescence. There are 4 stamens that are fused to the corolla. The superior ovary has 2 locules and becomes a dark blue/black drupe at maturity.

Habitat: Lantana camara grows Human Altered environments (yards, gardens, abandoned fields, roadsides).  It is not found in natural habitats within the Lucayan Archipelago.

Distribution: Lantana camara is NOT native to the Lucayan Archipelago.  It is native to South America, but its origins are in dispute as it is spread widely throughout Central America and the Caribbean region.

Medicinal/Cultural/Economic usage: Lantana camara has been used medicinally in the Lucayan Archipelago to treat respiratory issues.

Lantana camara is considered an INVASIVE species throughout the world