A deceptive plant with brightly coloured flowers that produces toxic berries
The Lantana camara, also referred to as big sage, wild sage, red sage and white sage, is a rather deceptive plant. Despite its brightly coloured flowers, the native Central and South American flowering plant produces deadly berries – toxic to livestock and, in some cases, humans – and has been labelled as a highly invasive species. There are approximately 650 varieties of Lantana in more than 60 countries.
The Lantana has small tubular-shaped flowers, each with four petals, which are arranged in clusters at the end of the stems. The flowers come in a variety of colours including red, yellow, white, pink and orange. Its leaves are egg-shaped and have a strong odour when crushed. The Lantana is an undemanding plant and thrives in full sun, is drought-tolerant and can even grow in poor soil. Propagation can be done from cuttings or seeds. It flowers easily and will produce a bushy plant that can grow to two metres.
