What makes Lantana camara an ecological nightmare

As you read this, a silent invasion is underway in large parts of the world and the troublemaker is a deceptively charming weed with a strong scent - Lantana camara - that has taken over millions of hectares of land in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions. Even if the name sounds unfamiliar, you would almost certainly have seen its bright, bouquet-like flowers that bloom nearly all year long in warm places and right till the first frost in colder ones. Lantana grows in a notoriously aggressive way, releasing chemicals into the soil that suppress other vegetation. Its leaves, flowers, and berries contain toxins that make them harmful to livestock, yet attract insects, birds and monkeys who help disperse its seeds over long distances. Its roots dig deep into the soil and spread wide in search of water and nutrients, while the fine coat of resin on its leaves slows down water loss. With these kinds of superpowers, the plant thrives even in the poorest soils and through the hottest and driest of days with minimal care. It is virtually unstoppable once it has established itself upon a land. Origin For all this belligerence, Lantana started out as just a pretty flowering shrub growing in Central and South America. Things began to change during the 17th century when it caught the eye of European explorers who brought it to Europe and began to grow it in ornamental gardens and greenhouses. They also carried it to other parts of the world. By the 19th century, Lantana had escaped cultivated areas and was spreading wildly across roadsides, farms and forests in Asia, Africa and Australia. It started as a pretty flowering shrub | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockPhoto By the early 20th century, its unruly behaviour became impossible to ignore and many countries took the first steps to control its spread. The weed was manually uprooted and replaced with native grasses and other vegetation. It was set on fire. Herbicides were used to kill it. Natural enemies, such as insects that fed upon its leaves, were unleashed. A long, brutal and expensive extermination campaign was launched against the plant. Yet, in most places, its thorny thickets refused to yield. By December 2000, the International Union for Conservation of Nature had declared Lantana camara one of the world’s worst invasive species. Today, global warming has made things easier for Lantana, helping it spread faster. In many places, instead of fighting the weed, local communities are finding ways to live with it. Tribal communities in Tamil Nadu, for example, are using its woody stems to make furniture, home décor and elephant sculptures, turning an ecological menace into an economic opportunity. Clearly, where there’s a will, there’s always a way! Published - December 26, 2025 08:52 am IST

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