By Geetha Ramaswami.

Lantana camara L. (lantana), a harmless looking thorny shrub with beautiful yellow and red flowers, is considered to be one of the world’s 100 most noxious weeds. Although a native of South and Central America, it is now found across dry tropics of India. It is often associated with reduced biodiversity and the chemicals it produces, called allelopathic substances, is speculated to be detrimental to growth of native species.