lantana camara seed, Perennial Flowers

 Also known as Angel Lips, Spanish Flag, or West Indian Lantana, these spectacular shrubby plants have aromatic flower clusters (umbels) in a mixture of red, orange, yellow, and white florets. The flowers, which are hummingbird magnets, typically change color as they mature, resulting in inflorescences that are two or three-colors. Indeed another common name for Lantana camara is "Ham 'n Eggs" due to the adjacent white and yellow inflorescences. Although they are more often seen as specimens and borders around the entrances to hotels in warmer countries, in the UK they are just as much at home in a large container in a conservatory. The bunches of black berries which finally appear are much loved by hungry birds too!

 Start lantana seeds indoors six to eight weeks before you plan to transplant them outdoors. Soak the seeds for 24 hours in warm water to soften the seed coat. Fill small, individual pots to within ½ inch (1 cm.) of the top with soilless seed starting medium and moisten the medium with water. Lay one or two seeds in the center of each pot and cover the seeds with 1/8 inch (3 mm.)  of soil.

The plant extracts has been used in folk medicine for the treatment of cancers, chicken pox, measles, asthma, ulcers, swellings, eczema, tumors, high blood pressure, bilious fevers, catarrhal infections, tetanus, rheumatism and malaria