FNPS Plant Database

Lantana depressa var. depressa

gold lantana
  • Photo by: Roger Hammer, Dade Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

gold lantana

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Lantana depressa var. depressa

Family:

Verbenaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

2 ft tall by 5 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

yellow

Fruit Color:

purple

Phenology:

evergreen

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Small, low-growing border plant, specimen plant in a flower garden. Fairly slow growing. Flowers range from bright yellow to white with a yellow center -- never becoming multicolored with age.

Considerations:

Availability:

Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales

Propagation:

Stem cuttings and seed. It is perhaps best to use cuttings to avoid the potential of establishing hybrids with L. strigocamara.

Light:

Full Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Not wet but not extremely dry -to- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray.

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Lime Rock

Soil pH:

prefers calcareous

Suitable to Grow In:

10A,10B,11

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Birds

May be pollinated by butterflies during the day and by moths at night (Osorio 2012).  Also visited by bees.

Birds eat the fruits and spread the seeds.

Native Habitats:

Pine rockland. On limestone. Vacant lots.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

This is a rare South Florida native that has entered the nursery trade. A major concern is hybridization with Lantana strigocamara, a multicolored invasive exotic. Due to the potential hybridization, it is best to acquire L. depress var. depressa only, and it is best to acquire it from a native plant nursery, not a big box store.

Citations:

Chafin, L. G. (2000). Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Florida. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, FL.


Osorio, Rufino. (2012). Is Lantana depressa Sphingophilous? (blog post) ( https://rufino-osorio.blogspot.com/2012/11/is-lantana-depressa-sphingophilous.html ). Accessed 2026.


Nelson, Gil. (2003). Florida's Best Landscape Plants: 200 Readily Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Traas, Pamela. (2001). Gardening for Florida's Butterflies. Great Outdoors Publishing Co., St. Petersburg, FL.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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