Lantana camara
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.
Also called Common Lantana, Jamaica mountain sage, Lantana and Shrub Verbena.
Lantana camara is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Pentacyclic triterpenoids. Clinical signs: Vomiting, diarrhea, labored breathing, weakness. Liver failure - more common in livestock. ASPCA
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Pentacyclic triterpenoids. Clinical signs: Vomiting, diarrhea, labored breathing, weakness. Liver failure - more common in livestock. ASPCA
- Toxic to people. Harmful when eaten. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sunRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1C — 5–10°C 5–10 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Harmful when eaten. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
Routine care
- Watering
- During growth, water generously and feed every two weeks with a balanced liquid fertiliser.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- While growing, water generously and give a balanced liquid fertiliser every two weeks.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- By division, seed or stem cuttings.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Increase from seed or semi-hardwood cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Under glass, glasshouse red spider mite and glasshouse whitefly can occur. Diseases: powdery mildews, also under glass.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Lantana camara is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the tropics of the Americas. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduced into a habitat it spreads rapidly; between 45ºN and 45ºS and less than 1,400 metres in altitude.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Mexico to Trop. AmericaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026native to the West Indies, Mexico to Tropical AmericaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- subshrub or shrubWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Annual, Ground Cover, Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial, Shrub; habit arching, erect, prostrate, roundedNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 12–72 in; width 36–60 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 1-1.5 metres; spread 1-1.5 metres after 5–10 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow, orange, pink, purple/lavender, white; blooms in fall, summerNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers red in spring, summer and autumn; yellow in spring, summer and autumnRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
The stalks are used to make paper pulp. The astringent bark of lantana is made into a lotion for skin eruptions, including leprous ulcers. Boiled Lantana camara leaves are applied to swellings. Lantana alkaloids have been shown to stimulate the bowels, lower blood pressure and speed up deep breathing. The plant has antimicrobial, fungicidal and insecticidal properties.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
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Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.