Lantana - Byron Shire Council

WEEDS of BYRON SHIRE<br />

<strong>Lantana</strong><br />

<strong>Lantana</strong> camara (<strong>Lantana</strong> tiliifolia)<br />

Family VERBENACEAE Life Form Shrub<br />

Origin<br />

South America<br />

Description<br />

Shrub up to 3 m high, often<br />

forming dense thickets.<br />

Branches long and weak, with<br />

short recurved prickles, with<br />

or without hairs. Ovate leaves<br />

with toothed margins, upper<br />

surface wrinkled with short stiff<br />

hairs. White, yellow, orange,<br />

red or pink flowers in various<br />

combinations. Black fruit.<br />

Flowering time<br />

Most of year<br />

Fruiting time<br />

Various<br />

Impacts<br />

Smothers native vegetation<br />

Habitat<br />

In sclerophyll forest and<br />

disturbed rainforest; coastal<br />

districts north from the Bega<br />

area<br />

Reproduction/dispersal<br />

Seed, vegetative spread<br />

Weed status<br />

Weed of National Significance,<br />

Noxious Class 4, Key<br />

Threatening Process<br />

Locality notes<br />

Widespread<br />

Similar Native Species<br />

Trema aspera Poison Peach,<br />

Plectranthus parvifolius do not<br />

have the distinctive <strong>Lantana</strong><br />

smell or square stems.

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CONTROL METHODS for <strong>Lantana</strong><br />

Methods<br />

Seedlings/individual bushes: handpull, removing all root syrstem and not leaving in contact with<br />

ground. Cut, scrape & paint stump with glyphosate & water at 1:1.5, or foliar spray with glyphosate & water<br />

at 1:100 (10ml/L) + surfactant, ensure to cover foliage well. In drier environments or poor growing season,<br />

spray glyphosate & water at 1:75 (15ml/L) + surfactant.<br />

Dense <strong>Lantana</strong> thicket: If required, cut tracks through for easy, safer access. Regular overspray<br />

of all foliage with glyphosate & water at 1:75 (15ml/L) + surfactant. or apply herbicide with a splatter gun<br />

(i.e. phillips forestry kit) with glyphosate & water at 1:9 + sticker oil ( 500ml /4.5L water). The splatter gun<br />

delivers a narrow stream/splatter of herbicide which should be applied every 1 - 1.5m of bush using 2 x 2ml<br />

shots per 0.5m of bush (treat both sides of the bush). This allows for the translocation of herbicide to untreated<br />

parts of the plant and will also impact on aerial growth from treated portions. Do not get this splatter<br />

gun mix on any desirable plants, however, when using regular overspray mix, some herbicide on the odd<br />

leaf of a native tree will not harm them. For widespread infestations or to prepare a site for planting, mulch<br />

up <strong>Lantana</strong> with a tritter (front end flail mulcher mounted on a machine), or slash with a tractor. Spray<br />

regrowth after plant has produced adequate foliage.<br />

Dead lantana thicket: Oversprayed <strong>Lantana</strong> thicket can be left in situ to allow regeneration of trees<br />

underneath or otherwise cut down with loppers or a brush-hook to improve site access for follow-up<br />

management. Vine weeds often establish under the thicket and can use as a trellis if not treated.<br />

Fire: in sclerophyll plant communities the planned use of fire may help to reduce the invasion of <strong>Lantana</strong>.<br />

To effectively control established <strong>Lantana</strong> thicket a hot/high intensity fire is required (which may be a<br />

logistical problem in a fragmented landscape) otherwise the plant will recover from basal sprouts. Take<br />

advantage of fire events which may improve access through an area and foliar spray basal resprouts of<br />

<strong>Lantana</strong>. Scope the ecological requirements of your site to decide whether fire is an appropriate tool or not.<br />

Burns should be undertaken with the local fire brigade.<br />

Best season<br />

Spray applications should only be used when plant is actively growing.<br />

Permit<br />

Covered by off label permit 9907 for use in areas of native vegetation to control noxious and environmental<br />

weeds. Further detail available at http://permits.apvma.gov.au/PER9907.PDF<br />

General Notes<br />

Red flowered form = noxious<br />

<strong>Byron</strong> <strong>Shire</strong> <strong>Council</strong><br />

PO Box 219 Mullumbimby NSW 2482<br />

biodiversity@byron.nsw.gov.au<br />

www.byron.nsw.gov.au/biodiversity<br />

Last updated January 2010