Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical shrubland
Range: Central and South America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Common lantana is a tropical shrub whose dense flower clusters (umbels) famously display multiple colors simultaneously — individual blooms shift from yellow to orange to pink to red as they age. Its berries are toxic to most animals, yet its flowers are irresistible to butterflies.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Verbenaceae
Genus: Lantana
Species: Lantana camara