Lantana Camara

Flower head of Lantana Camara, with a well camouflaged Jeweled Flower Mantis perched on top. Lantanas, also called Shrub Verbenas, are widely cultivated worldwide for their pretty flowers and attraction to butterflies. Lantana Camara or Spanish Flag is the most common cultivar. Some members of the Lantana family are highly invasive and have so far resisted various methods of biological control, including a number of different insects. They have tough and durable thin stems, which can be useful for wickerwork. In some parts of India they are being used for wicker crafts in place of bamboo, which the invasive plants have displaced.

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