Lantana

Lantana flowers at Stanley Beach.

Lantana camara is originally from South America. It was introduced to Europe in 1687 by the Dutch official, Simon van Beaumont, when he brought seeds of the plant to the Netherlands from the island of Curacao upon his return as an official in the newly acquired territory of Dutch Brazil.

Franz Kiggelaer, a botanist and the curator of Beaumont's garden in Leiden, described the plant in his 1690 catalogue of the plants grown there. The name lantana came from the plant's misidentification as a relative to a similar plant known in Europe, viburnum lantana. The world lantana is believed to come from the Latin root lentus, which means light or flexible.

Lantana became a favorite greenhouse plant in the 18th century and many new varieties were bred for sale in the European market. By the late 19th century, lantana was widely cultivated in gardens and was being introduced to other countries as an ornamental plant. But by the late 20th century, it had escaped the gardens to become one of the most invasive species in the world. Today, it is found in more than 60 countries.

A weeping or creeping species, Lantana montevidensis, also native to South America and which followed Lantana camara to Europe, has lavender flowers. There is a reinforced slope along Stubbs Road that is covered with this species.

I brought a Lantana camara plant home from the nursery in Connecticut where I worked when I was 17 and it became a favorite of my mother and mine. I always think of her when I see lantana today.