Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Lantana camara
Common name
Lantana
Family
Verbenaceae
Where found
Forest, woodland, forestry plantations, grassy areas, disturbed sites, old habitations, coastal environs, roadsides, and near streams. Forms dense thickets. Coastal. Ranges north from west of Nowra.
Notes
Shrub to 4 m high, sometimes a woody climber to 15 m high. Fruit fleshy. Young stems square in cross section, usually prickly, sparsely to moderately hairy, sometimes bristly, often sticky. As they mature the stems become rounded and turn grey or brown. Leaves strongly aromatic when rubbed, opposite each other, 5-20 cm long, 15–70 mm wide, moderately wrinkled, margins scalloped to toothed with 15–40 teeth per side, surfaces rough, hairy with sharp appressed rigid bristly hairs, upper surface dull green, sparsely to moderately hairy, lower surface slightly lighter or duller green, the hairs scattered to moderately dense on the veins, sometimes also with scattered short erect thread-like hairs on the veins, tips gradually tapering to a point, bases often cordate. Flowers usually yellow, orange, red, white, cream, or pink or mauve to deep reddish-purple, or multi-coloured, the throat often yellow, 4–10 mm in diameter, tubular, the tube 7–14 mm long, with 4-5 lobes. Flower clusters hemispherical, of about 20-40 flowers, 2–4 cm diameter, at the bases of the leaves. Fruit black, blue-black, or purplish-black, glossy, 5-8 mm in diameter, clustered in heads. Flowers throughout the year.
Weed of National Significance. General Biosecurity Duty with additional restrictions all NSW. Pest plant ACT. Noxious weed Vic.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Lantana~camara (accessed 22 January, 2021)
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