Linnaeus gave the genus its name, Lantana, in 1738. In so doing, he borrowed from the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner (1516-1565) who thus characterized Viburnum in 1542 for its flexible branches: the word lantana derives from the Latin verb lento, with the meaning of to bend, to curb. The species name, camara (room), alludes to mites sheltering within the bunch of flowers stemming from a single point and known as the umbel.
The genus comprises now more than 150 species. Native to the American tropics, Central and South America, Lantana camara is a small perennial shrub that grows up to 2m (3-6ft) tall. Dark green leaves, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, are broadly ovate, opposite, and simple, rough wrinkled on top and emit a strong odor when bruised. Small tubular shaped 5-lobed flowers, are arranged in dense hemispherical clusters in terminal areas stems. Flowers come in many different colours, including red, yellow, white, pink and orange, often mixed in the same cluster. The fruit is a berry-like drupe. The plant is designed for wide-spread dissemination, with fruit up to 12,000 produced by a single plant, prior to their being eaten by birds and the seeds being released over large distances.
Mankind also assisted the spread of this plant. The first samples were brought to Europe from Brazil by Dutch explorers and merchants at the end of the seventeenth century. Subsequently, they were introduced to other parts of the world, often as cultivars. For instance, it was introduced in 1863 in New Caledonia, in order to form ornemental hedges.
How could one resist the lure of these pretty flowers! Horticulturists thus sell many varieties of cultivars.
The story has its down sides though, the toxicity of this plant and its invasiveness. Toxicity? Of the green fruit to grazing animals, due to pentacyclic triterpenes. It causes photosensitivity and liver damage. To nearby plants: it excretes allelopathic chemicals, that inhibit germination and root elongation. Invasiveness? It tolerates a wide range of environmental conditions. Moreover, it prefers disturbed habitats. Accordingly, this highly opportunistic species takes advantage of the expansion of mankind at the expense of forests, in particular, with the increase of logging and of clearing through burning. In areas where it has been established for many years, such as East Africa, Australia and New Zealand, its range keeps increasing. In addition, it has invaded territories on which it was not present half-a-century ago, such as the Galapagos Islands , Saipan and the Solomon Islands.
Seductive in the past, it has become a threat.