lantana

Lantana camara L.

Lantana camara bears many small flowers in compact clusters that arise beside the leaves. Its identity is more specific than the familiar garden label “lantana”: USDA GRIN separates the Linnaean species from the horticultural and weedy hybrid aggregate frequently given the same name. The wild plant belongs to the diverse tropical American verbena family. Kew POWO: Lantana camara USDA GRIN: Lantana camara sensu stricto Silva, Cardoso and Echternacht 2023: Verbenaceae in Itacolomi State Park

Botanical name

Lantana camara L. is accepted by Kew. This profile describes the tropical American species, with morphology explicitly drawn from the Itacolomi flora; the horticultural hybrid complex often misnamed L. camara is excluded. Kew POWO: Lantana camara USDA GRIN: Lantana camara sensu stricto

Recognizing the plant

In the flora of Itacolomi State Park, Brazil, plants are described as shrubs 30 cm to 1.5 m tall, with prickly, four-angled branches. The opposite leaves are papery, elliptical to ovate, hairy and edged with rounded teeth. Individual flowers have a narrow tube and two-lipped opening. Small, similarly shaped bracts beneath the flowers fall away during fruiting. The fleshy fruits mature from green to purple or black and enclose a single stone. Silva, Cardoso and Echternacht 2023: Verbenaceae in Itacolomi State Park

Bloom window

Itacolomi State Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Flowering and fruiting collections were made in January, February, November and December. Silva, Cardoso and Echternacht 2023: Verbenaceae in Itacolomi State Park

Native range

Kew gives its native range as Mexico through tropical America, including the Caribbean. At Itacolomi, botanists recorded it along trails, roadsides, disturbed ground and near the Maynart River, mostly below about 1,240 m elevation. Kew POWO: Lantana camara Silva, Cardoso and Echternacht 2023: Verbenaceae in Itacolomi State Park

Botanical sources

Reviewed 2026-10-11. Seasonal development varies with location and growing conditions.