The plant introduced today was once a dangerous invasive plant from abroad, but now it is widely planted in many places, and its plants have many uses and high economic value, so don't miss it if you encounter this weed.
Lantana is an upright or vine-like shrub that is 1-2 meters tall and sometimes vine-like, up to 4 meters long; The stems are all square in shape, with short soft hairs, usually with short, barb-like spines. Single leaves are opposite, with a strong odor after kneading, the leaves are ovate to ovate oblong, sharply pointed or tapering at the apex, heart-shaped or wedge-shaped at the base, blunt teeth at the edges, rough wrinkles and short soft hairs on the surface, small bristles on the back, about 5 pairs of lateral veins, and the inflorescence stem is thick and long than the petiole; The bracts are lanceolate and have coarse hairs on the outside; Calyx tubular, membranous, with very short teeth at the apex; The corolla is yellow or orange-yellow, turning dark red shortly after flowering, the corolla tube is about 1 cm long, with fine short hairs on both sides, 4-6 mm in diameter; The ovary is glabrous. The fruit is spherical in shape, about 4 mm in diameter, and purple-black when ripe. It blooms all year round.
This lantana is a shrub plant, because its flowers have many colors, so the ornamental value is very high, in our country Taiwan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangdong have wild, there are also planted everywhere. This plant grows in the low altitude wasteland or on the edge of the beach, the plant can grow to about 1-2 meters, now the garden and gardens are more common, is a famous horticultural plant, in fact, the plant has many uses.
Lantana roots, leaves, flowers can actually be used for us, is a plant that can be used in medicine, in fact, its plants can also play a role in guarding the ridge, slope protection, berm, etc., which is helpful for the ecological environment. Its roots can be used to make rubber, like the stem is also a raw material for papermaking, and the leaves can be extracted for insecticide, which can be used a lot. Its leaves and fruits are toxic, do not look at its plant ornamental value is high and picked at will.
In fact, it is also a very influential invasive plant, with many harms, but the roots, leaves and flowers can also be used by us, and the value is precious.