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Lantana camara L.
Common Lantana

Reference
Sp.Pl. 2:627 (1753)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Alien to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Scrambling, prickly shrub or climber, to 3(-8) m high. Fl. cream-yellow/pink-purple/orange-red, Jan to Mar or Jun to Sep. Sandy soils. Moist areas.

Amanda Spooner, Descriptive Catalogue, 14 August 2007

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Carnarvon, Coolgardie, Dampierland, Geraldton Sandplains, Indian Tropical Islands, Jarrah Forest, Pilbara, Swan Coastal Plain, Victoria Bonaparte.
IBRA Subregions
Cape Range, Eastern Goldfield, Geraldton Hills, Keep, Perth, Pindanland, Roebourne, Southern Jarrah Forest.
IMCRA Regions
Canning, Kimberley.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Albany, Bassendean, Bayswater, Broome, Cambridge, Christmas Island, Coolgardie, Cottesloe, Dardanup, Exmouth, Gosnells, Greater Geraldton, Karratha, Melville, Murray, Nedlands, Northampton, Perth, South Perth, Waroona, Wyndham-East Kimberley.

Management Notes (for the Swan NRM Region)

General Biology. Growth form. Shrub. Reproduction. Seed, root suckers, stem layering. Dispersal. Birds, mammals, water, garden refuse. Time to first flowering. 2+ years. Vegetative regeneration strategy. Resprouts and produces root suckers, stem layering. Seedbank persistence. 3 -10 years, depending on soil conditions. Fire response. Plants may resprout after a cool burn, hot fire can kill plants.

Notes. Increases total soil nitrogen and nitrogen availability. Has allelopathic properties. Flowers in a range of colours. A major weed pest of 60 countries and is considered one the world's ten worst weeds. Biological control agents have been released in Australia. Naturalised populations have originated from various cultivated hybrids.

Additional information. Origin. Tropical South America, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean. History of use/introduction. Garden escape. Similar exotic species. Lantana montevidensis.

Suggested method of management and control. Apply 250 ml Access® in 15 L of diesel to base 50 cm of stems (basal bark) or foliar spray with 1.5% glyphosate. In some situations fire could be a useful tool to remove biomass, but follow up herbicide control will be required. Read the manufacturers' labels and material safety data sheets before using herbicides. For further information consult the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to determine the status of permits for your situation or state.

Management Calendar

Calendar Type Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Comments
Flowering Y Y O         O Y Y Y Y  
Germination               O Y Y Y O  
Optimum Treatment O O Y Y Y O O O O O O O  

Legend: Y = Yes, regularly, O = Occasionally, U = Uncertain, referred by others but not confirmed.

 

References

  • Brown, K. & Brooks, K. (2002) Bushland Weeds: A Practical Guide to their Management. Environmental Weeds Action Network, Greenwood.
  • CRC Weed Management (2003) Weed management guide. Lantana (Lantana camara). Department of the Environment and Heritage and the CRC for Australian Weed Management URL: http://www.weeds.gov.au/publications/guidelines/wons/l-camara.html - Accessed June 2009.
  • Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Dodd, J., Lloyd, S.G. & Cousens, R.D. (2007) Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. 2nd Edition. The Plant Protection Society of Western Australia, Victoria Park.
  • Muyt, A. (2001) Bush invaders of South-East Australia: A guide to the identification and control of environmental weeds found in South-East Australia. R.G. & F.J. Richardson, Melbourne.
  • Navie, S. & Adkins, S. (2008) Environmental Weeds of Australia, An interactive identification and information resource for over 1000 invasive plants. Centre for Biological Information Technology, The University of Queensland.
  • Parsons, W.T. & Cuthbertson, E.G. (2001) Noxious weeds of Australia. 2nd Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
  • Sharma, G.P. & Raghubanshia, A.P. (2009) Lantana invasion alters soil nitrogen pools and processes in the tropical dry deciduous forest of India. Applied Soil Ecology, 42 (2): 134-140.
  • Stock, D.H. & Wild, C.H. (2002) The capacity of Lantana (Lantana camara L.) to displace native vegetation. In Papers and Proceedings of the 13th Australian Weeds Conference (eds. H. Spafford Jacob, J. Dodd & J. H. Moore). Plant Protection Society of WA, Perth.
  • Swarbrick, J.T., Wilson, B.W. & Hannan-Jones, M.A. (1995) The biology of Australian weeds. 25. Lantana camara L. Plant Protection Quarterly, 10: 282-295.
  • Tomley, A.J. & Riding, N. (2002) Prospodium tuberculatum, Lantana Rust, a new agent released for the biocontrol of the woody shrub Lantana camara. In Papers and Proceedings of the 13th Australian Weeds Conference (eds. H. Spafford Jacob, J. Dodd & J. H. Moore). Plant Protection Society of WA, Perth.
  • Vivian-Smith, G. & Panetta, F.D. (2009) Lantana (Lantana camara) seed bank dynamics: seedling emergence and seed survival. Invasive Plant Science and Management, 2 (2): 141-150.