Lantana

Lantana camara L., L. montevidensis (Spreng.) Breq., L. involucrata L., L. depressa L.

lan-TAN-ah  CAM-ah-ra, mawn-ta-veh-DEN-sis, in-vol-u-CRAY-tah, dee-PRESS-ah

Verbenaceae

Explanation of names (WA1): Lantana - old name

                                     camara - South American name

                                     montevidensis – from Montevideo

 involucrata – with an involucre (nestlike cluster of bracts)

 depressa - low-growing 

Natural ranges: Tropical and subtropical America, including Florida:

L. camara: West Indies, escaped in Florida

L. montevidensis: South America

L. involucrata: Native to Florida, southeastern U.S., Caribbean (HAE)

L. depressa: Miami-Dade Co. (and possibly beyond, see Hammer below)

Recognition:

The identities of lantanas found in South Florida are complex. The commonest species is L. camara, an invasive exotic readily recognized by its usually bright flame-colored flowers and prickly stems. This “species” is variable in size and coloration, and is involved in hybridizations, including hybrids with L. montevidensis. According to Hammer (see below) some cultivars are sterile and therefore presumably environmentally safe. Hammer gives ‘New Gold’ as an example of a nearly sterile cultivar. ‘Gold Mound’ is an L. camara cultivar sometimes sold incorrectly as L. depressa.

            Lantana depressa is similar to L. camara to the point that the taxonomic border between the two is blurred. Lantana depressa, according to most recent accounts (see WU1), is a rare species endemic to Miami-Dade County, although broader interpretations give a broader distribution. Although the details are unresolved---more a matter for DNA technology than subjective opinion---it apparently hybridizes with L. camara.  Nursery stock sold as L. depressa often represents the hybrids. (There are formal discussions of this in Sanders, R. Identity of Lantana depressa and L. ovatifolia (Verbenaceae) of Florida and the Bahamas, Systematic Botany 12: 44. 1987, in WU1 with a divergent perspective, and in Hammer, R. The Lantana Mess: A Critical Look at the Genus in Florida, The Palmetto 23(1): 21-24 available on-line at http://www.afnn.org/upload/pdf_forms/article2lantana.pdf).

            In WU1 L. depressa differs from L. camara by being lower-growing, by having smaller, non-cordate ovate-elliptic to lanceolate-elliptic leaf blades 1-3 cm long (vs. blades cordate to ovate-elliptic 3-8 cm long), and by having solid yellow corollas (vs. corollas in various combinations of red and yellow).

            Hammer (cited above) describes the L. depressa-L. camara hybrids as being recognizable by having:

1. Leaf blades with truncate (squared-off) (vs. rounded) bases, at least on one side

2. Flowers developing reddish coloration with age

3. Leaf blade margins with 10-25 teeth per side (L. camara: 15-30 teeth/side; L. depressa 3-10(15) teeth/side).

The introduced Lantana montevidensis and the native L. involucrata differ together from L. camara and L. depressa by having flowers in involucrate heads (nested in clusters of bracts) and by having muted pastel or white flowers. Following WU1, L. involucrata has the corolla tubes 2-3 mm long, white or pale blue, in contrast with the larger (8-20 mm) magenta or lilac flowers of L. montevidensis.

Landscape uses: Lantana camara is a severe invasive exotic (FEPPC Category I) and is not recommended for cultivation unless sterile cultivars or hybrids are used. Lantana montevidensis likewise is an escaped exotic (WU1), although less severely so. It is low-growing, trailing, and has white or pale blue flowers.

            Lantana involucrata is a shrub native to South Florida, attractive to butterflies, and easy to cultivate. Its bluish to white flowers are less showy than those most gardeners associate with “Lantana” (camara). The fruit is a glossy black/purplish and is food for birds. The plants die to the ground in cooler weather but return in the spring. Can become weedy looking. The leaves are pungent when crushed.

            Lantana depressa, Pineland Lantana, is native (to Miami-Dade), beautiful, and showy, although its use is complicated by probable hybridization with L. camara to the point where even “wild populations” of the species are suspected of hybridization. Hammer doubts that any or much true L. depressa is sold in Florida.

            Lantana fruits are toxic to humans and livestock, especially when green. The plants are sometimes infested with mites.