page_title: Lantana camara
section_title: Distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Lantana camara / Distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: Antillean crested hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) feeding photographed in its natural habitat in the Morne Diablotins National Park in Dominica. Guide was local expert 'Dr Birdy' Bertrand Baptiste.
context_page_description: Lantana camara is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family, native to the American tropics. Other common names of L. camara include big-sage, wild-sage, red-sage, white-sage, korsu wiri or korsoe wiwiri, tickberry, West Indian lantana, umbelanterna and Gu Phool in Assam, India.
  As an ornamental, L. camara is often cultivated indoors, or in a conservatory, but can also thrive in a garden with sufficient shelter. It has spread from its native Central and South America to around 50 countries, where it has become an invasive species. It first spread out of the Americas when it was brought to Europe by Dutch explorers and cultivated widely, soon spreading further into Asia and Oceania where it has established itself as a notorious weed, and in Goa it was introduced by the Portuguese.
  L. camara can outcompete native species, leading to a reduction in biodiversity. It can also cause problems if it invades agricultural areas as a result of its toxicity to livestock, as well as its ability to form dense thickets which, if left unchecked, can greatly reduce the productivity of farmland.
context_section_description: The native range of Lantana camara is Central and South America; however, it has become naturalised in around 60 tropical and sub-tropical countries worldwide. It is found frequently in east and southern Africa, where it occurs at altitudes below 2000 m, and often invades previously disturbed areas such as logged forests and areas cleared for agriculture.
  L. camara has also colonized areas of Africa, Southern Europe, such as Spain and Portugal, and also the Middle East, India, tropical Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the US, as well as many Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean islands. It has become a significant weed in Sri Lanka after escaping from the Royal Botanic gardens in 1926.
  It was introduced into the Philippines from Hawaii as part of an exchange program between the United States and the Philippines; however, it managed to escape and has become naturalized in the islands.
  The range of L. camara is still increasing, shown by the fact that it has invaded many islands on which it was not present in 1974, including the Galapagos Islands, Saipan and the Solomon Islands. There is also evidence that L. camara is still increasing its range in areas where it has been established for many years, such as East Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The ability of L. camara to rapidly colonise areas of land which have been disturbed has allowed it to proliferate in countries where activities such as logging, clearance for agriculture and forest fires are common. In contrast, in countries with large areas of intact primary forest, the distribution of L. camara has been limited.
caption: Antillean crested hummingbird feeding from L. camara
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