Lantana Camara

December 29, 2023

Lantana (Lantana camara), is one of the 10 worst invasive species in the world.
Lantana is not native to India.
- It is a perennial shrub native to the American tropics and belongs to the Verbenaceae family.
- It was introduced in the country as an ornamental plant by the British in the 1800s.
The shrub can spread on the forest ground, climb over trees a creeper and entangle with other native plants with ease.
It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems.
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Western Ghats is one of the largest impacted hotspot areas due to invasion dominated by Lantana camara.
Challenge
- Eradicating lantana is difficult “because of its rapid spread, intensity of infestation, allelopathy [chemicals released to discourage growth of native plants], opportunistic growth behaviour, reproductivity biology traits, and tenacious resistance to cutting and burning.
- If the roots are not extracted properly, the shrub can start growing again.
- Its seeds are also so light that they can be easily dispersed by the wind.