Characteristics

• Lantana camara is the botanical name for this tropical shrub, which also goes by the common name of yellow sage. It is a native in tropical areas of West Africa and the Americas. It grows naturally along fence rows and roadsides, as well as within cultivated crops and prairies. Although the color of the blossoms varies, depending on the specific cultivar, lantana plants generally blossom in shades of orange, yellow, pink and deep red, often containing numerous colors within the same plant. Lantana contains a type of toxin that can cause jaundice, weakness and constipation in grazing animals that feed on this plant.
  
  

Growth Habits

• In warm climates, the perennial plants may grow higher than 6 feet tall. Lantana produces ovate leaves that appear opposite one another along the lengths of the stems. The flowers appear in clusters near the ends of the stems, often reaching a diameter between 1 and 2 inches wide. Lantana blossoms usually appear in the early summer.
  
  

Seeds

• Lantana reproduces through seed formation. After the flowers fade, small fruits take their place on the ends of the stems. Lantana fruits resemble small black and greenish-blue berries. Each fruit contains a single seed. As with many other types of flowering and fruiting plants, animals and weather help distribute the lantana seeds to other areas of the landscape. Germination and new plant growth occurs in the spring among fertile seeds. These seeds may germinate throughout the year in tropical climates, providing they receive sufficient moisture and sunlight.
  
  

Vegetative Reproduction

• Lantana also reproduces in a vegetative manner, by forming new roots on areas of cut or layered stems under the surface of the soil. Removing cut vegetation after tilling up lantana can help minimize this type of vegetative new growth. Vegetative cuttings grow best in areas with evenly moist soil. These plants thrive in full sunlight.