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 ntroduced |
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Common name: White lantana, Wild Sage, Button sage
Botanical name: Lantana involucrata/odorata Family: Verbenaceae (verbena family)
White lantana is a shrub commonly 1 to 2 m in height with showy
flowers. The plant is supported by many stiff lateral roots and abundant
fine roots. The roots are light brown with a corky bark. Older plants,
often with a basal diameter of 5 cm or more, have several main branches
arising at or near the ground line and a branchy crown. The bark is
yellowish and the wood is brittle. Petioles are 3 to 5 mm long and the
leaf blades are 1 to 4 by 1 to 2.5 cm wide and broad, rotund to narrowly
elliptic-oblong, rough and stiff with a crenate or toothed margin. The
leaves are aromatic with a spicy, sage-like smell. The small tubular
flowers form compact terminal heads. The corolla may be white, pink
to pinkish purple, or pale blue. The frutes are clusters of purple to
blue-black drupes 3 to 4 mm in diameter containing one seed each.
The native range of white lantana includes southern Florida, the West Indian
islands, Mexico through northern South America bordering the Caribbean.
| Photographed in
Garden of Five Senses, Delhi |
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