Lantana camara: Unopened flowers

I think…

… Yes. A few days after posting, I discovered that the "stick" was still in the ground: 'Lucky™ Pure Gold' cultivar.

From Missouri Botanical Garden: “Lantana camara, commonly called lantana or shrub verbena, is native to the Central and South America. It is an upright frost-tender shrub that grows 3-6' tall. It has escaped gardens throughout the world and is considered to be a noxious weed in many frost-free/tropical areas where it can rapidly spread to form dense thickets. It has naturalized in parts of the southern U.S. including southern Florida, the Gulf Coast and southern California. When grown in St. Louis, plants placed out in spring after last frost date may grow to as much as 3-4' tall by the end of the summer. Tiny 5-lobed flowers in dense hemispherical clusters (to 2" diameter) bloom summer to fall. Flower colors include white, yellow, orange, red and purple, often mixed in the same cluster. Ovate, toothed, dark green leaves (to 4" long) are rough-wrinkled above. Leaves are aromatic when bruised. Many cultivars and hybrids are available, including dwarf and trailing plants, to the point where this species is seldom found in commerce. Flowers are attractive to butterflies.

“Genus name comes from the Latin name for Viburnum transferred to this genus.

“Specific epithet is a South American vernacular name for a species of Lantana.”

» Species page at PhytoImages

[ IMG_7837S9x675Utm :: 250mm ]

[PhotoCrazy]

Lovely capture!!

[Thom Mitchell]

@photographycrazy This was one of those "oh, well" shots that we don't care about with digital. I was walking by — with an inappropriate lens (55-250mm for shooting bugs) — and just snapped a couple. I wouldn't have wasted film with this lens, but it turned out okay!

[Mags]

You captured these little bow ties much, much better than I did! =)