LANTANA

Lantana (Lantana camara), invasive introduced weed, is a large flowering shrub native to Central and South America that readily grows into thickets. After being brought to Australia as an ornamental garden plant in about 1841, the weed quickly escaped domestic cultivation and within 20 years was established in the wild. Lantana forms dense thickets that exclude native species, leading to its complete dominance of the understorey and eventually the canopy. It has also been estimated that graziers spend $17.1 million a year on lantana control and lose more than $104 million in production due to lantana invasion. It is spread mainly by birds.
Lantana impacts biodiversity in NSW and is listed as a Weed of National Significance.

What is lantana?

Agriculture: Lantana forms dense, impenetrable thickets that take over pastures on the east coast of Australia. It competes for resources with, and reduces the productivity of, pastures and forestry plantations. It adds fuel to fires, and is toxic to stock (CRC 2003).  There does not appear to be any documentation of palatability and toxicity to native fauna. Toxicity seems likely to be related to genetic factors, not environmental ones. Most variants of Lantana (Lantana camara) in Australia are toxic to domestic livestock (sheep, cattle) to some degree (CRC 2003). DPI NSW (2019) state that all types and parts of lantana are considered poisonous to stock. Red-flowered lantana is most dangerous and stock poisoning is common. It happens most when new animals are introduced into Lantana areas and there is no other feed. Cattle used to grazing lantana-infested land are less likely to eat it. Early symptoms of lantana poisoning include, depression, loss of appetite, constipation, frequent urination, jaundice for 1 – 2 days,  inflamed eyes with a slight discharge, mouth area becoming inflamed, moist, and very sensitive, with a pink nose, bare skin becoming very sensitive to light, red and swollen, or may crack, turn black, and die. Stock usually die 1–4 weeks after symptoms appear. Death is slow and painful from liver and kidney failure. Some animals have heart damage.

Lantana camara is now found across four million hectares of land east of the Great Dividing Range, from Mount Dromedary in southern New South Wales to Cape Melville in northern Queensland. Isolated infestations exist in the Top End of the Northern Territory, around Perth in Western Australia, and on Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Although present Australia wide as a garden ornamental, it has not naturalised to any serious extent elsewhere (CRC 2003). Only casual individual plants or garden plantings spreading vegetatively under (or over) the garden fence have been recorded in South Australia.

Spray FireHawk Bioherbicide Concentrate: 50 mL/L of water. Respray if regrowth occurs. Pull out creepers including roots.