San Antonio, TX (Zone 8b) | January 2009 | neutral
I ahve not grown this plant. Hammock shrubverbena, small-headed lantana, small headed, small head lantana (Lantana canescens) is a nativ...Read Moree shrub that is found only in small populations in Texas (only in Hidalgo County) and Florida (small population in Miami-Dade County along hammock margins and is extremely rare). It has been declared endangered in Florida. Hammock shrubverbena is native to the West Indies. It has very small bloom heads that have tubular 5, irregularly lobed white blooms with yellow centers similar to those of Lantana involucrata. L. canescens blooms appear in in flattened clusters at the ends of long stalks that emerge from the angle of leaf axils. L. involucrata flowers are often violet-tinged and L. canescens are not. L. canescens does not produce purple or blue berries. Its fruiting heads resemble teensie green artichokes which bear "nutlets" between green bracts. When mature, the nutlets are brown, spherical, 1.5 mm wide, one-seeded, hard and dry. The 6.5 cm long, opposite leaves are canescent (pale or gray colored because of a short, fine, dense hairs) on both surfces. In addition, they are simple, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate and have prominent secondary veins, pointed tips and wedge-shaped bases. The margins are shallowly toothed. The stems are gray or white and 4-angled.
I ahve not grown this plant. Hammock shrubverbena, small-headed lantana, small headed, small head lantana (Lantana canescens) is a nativ...Read More