Lantana camara

Inflorescences of Wandelröschens ( Lantana camara )

The lantana ( Lantana camara ) comes from the family of the verbena family ( Verbenaceae ). Your cultivated forms are popular ornamental plants, and it is a strongly spreading invasive plant at the same time in the tropics and subtropics.

Description

These are shrubs with often long, slightly drooping branches. The branches are rough by downward bristles or short spines.

The 1-2 cm long stalked leaves are oval, notched at the edge to cut. They have a wrinkled surface and are additionally rough by stiff short hair.

The flowers are in terminal heads from 1.5 cm to 3 cm in diameter. The flowers are yellow or orange, later often reddish to purple. By changing the time flower color the flower heads get a distinctive, colorful look with different colors inside and out.

Are formed wenigsamige, toxic drupes, which are metallic dark blue to black when ripe.

Toxicity

The whole plant is poisonous, especially the ripe and unripe fruit. Lantana camara is the most poisonous species of the genus. Main active ingredients in the leaf are Lantaden A and B, Icterogenin and triterpenes. The symptoms of poisoning are similar z.T. those of a belladonna poisoning (dilated pupils ). Nevertheless, some species eat parts of this plant. So the seeds of Wandelröschens example, plays in the food spectrum of the dark cuckoo dove a role, although the plant in Australia - the habitat of this pigeon - an introduced species is.

Distribution and habitat requirements

The species is native to Central America and southern North America. She has been kidnapped but in all warm regions of the world and can, in particular in warm, moist areas of wasteland, on pastures and forests greatly spread, including dissemination of seeds by birds contributes. Sometimes it is but because of it planted on erosion-prone slopes. In South Africa, the culture of Wandelröschens has been banned in gardens because of its invasive nature.

In cooler, drier areas it is often seen as an ornamental plant it. In Central Europe it is available anywhere, both annual as well as in cold greenhouse cultivated hibernating.