Dig into Plants: Miss Huff Lantana

Miss Huff Lantana Other Common Names: Lantana, Shrub Verbena Scientific Name: Lantana camara 'Miss Huff' Native to Alabama: No, non-native
	Wikimedia Samratmaina2019 Click on image to enlarge it

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Basic Plant Information
	I am a vascular woody plant with with several stems rising near ground, so I am a shrub. I do keep leaves year-round, so I am evergreen. I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial. I can grow 5 - 6 feet high and 4 - 6 feet wide.
Wikimedia Forest Starr & Kim Starr Click on image to enlarge it

Ecological Benefits

Maintenance Notes
Dormant in winter. Preventing seed production is key to stop spreading – remove flower heads prior to seeding. Removing flower heads prior to seed set will greatly reduce the number of seeds released into the seed bank as well as reduces the number of seeds available for spread by birds or other animals.
When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots. Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves. Requires average amount of water.
Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:
Full Sun (6+ hours of sun per day)	Average Watering	Well-drained, Sandy, or Loamy Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identificaiton

LEAF DESCRIPTION				Wikimedia Ixitixel Click on image to enlarge it
Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)

Shape: Ovate	Margin: Crenate	Arrangement: Opposite	Form: Simple


Description:
Up to 4-inch dark green leaves; the foliage has small hairs and scales making it rough to touch, and fragrant when bruised; stems are woody at base, angled and hairy when younger, older stems have prickles


FLOWER DESCRIPTION			Wikimedia Nepalbibesh2075 Click on image to enlarge it
Flower Shape Chart (JPG)

Color: Orange and pink	Shape: Tubular	Bloom Months: Mar - Oct

Description:
Tiny 4-5 lobed flowers in hemispherical clusters up to 2 inches in diameter; grown in head-like spikes from the axils of the leaves; after pollination, the color of the flower changes to signal to pollinators


SEED DESCRIPTION			Wikimedia Alvesgaspar Click on image to enlarge it

Type: Fruit - Berry	Description: Less than 1-inch, 2 seeded berry; starts green and changes dark purple or black when mature	Months in Seed: Fall

Plant spreads by:
Seeds and Rhizomes/ Tubers/ Roots & Shoots Birds and other animals that consume lantana fruit can spread seeds across large distances; vegetative reproduction occurs when lantana stems come into contact with moist soil, initiating root formation at the contact site.

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

All plants start life as a seed.
The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

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General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign:
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign:
Editable Word Doc

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT

Monrovia		USDA Plants Database
Alabama Plant Atlas		North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Missouri Botanical Garden		University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants

Alabama Outdoor Classroom Conservation Education Programs