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Key to Lantana

Verbenaceae

Lantana

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1 Inflorescence axes not thickened or spongy; inflorescence bracts broadly elliptic, broadly ovate, or reniform; corollas either pink or white to pale lavender and often with a pale yellow 'eye'; drupes white, tan, brown, pink, or purplish black, succulent to nearly dry when ripe; stems trailing, ascending, or erect; [section Callioreas].
  2 Stems trailing; corollas pink (rarely white)
  2 Stems ascending to erect; corollas white to pale lavender, and often with a pale yellow 'eye'.
    3 Stems, leaves, and inflorescence bracts sparsely to densely covered with (sometimes "grayed by") erect, spreading, or curled soft hairs; inflorescence bract apices obtuse or acute
    3 Stems, leaves, and inflorescence bracts moderately to densely covered with (and whitened or yellowed by) strongly appressed, stiff, usually straight hairs; inflorescence bract apices attenuate or caudate (abruptly tapered to a long tail-like tip)
      4 Leaf blades ovate,ca. 2× as long as wide; leaf teeth with spreading acute, attenuate or cuspidate tips, 3-8 mm wide from sinus to sinus; peduncles in flower 2× as long as the leaves; endocarp globose, not distally reticulate
      4 Leaf blades lanceolate, ca. 3× as long as wide, teeth with incurved acute, obtuse, or mammillate tips, 1-3 mm wide from sinus to sinus; peduncles in flower 1/2× as long as the leaves; endocarp 2-lobed, distally reticulate
1 Inflorescence axes clavate-thickened, spongy; inflorescence bracts lanceolate-triangular or oblanceolate; corollas at least in part orange, variously entirely orange or varicolored in the inflorescence with oranges, pinks, and/or purples; drupes bluish-black and juicy when ripe; stems ascending to erect; [section Lantana]
        5 Stems without prickles; leaf blades generally light green, often involute, (1.5-) 1.7-2.5 (-3) times longer than wide, corollas fairly uniformly colored within each inflorescence, yellow to yellow-orange from bud, opening, and to the older flowers, occasionally the outermost ring of flowers turning a dark orangeish
          6 Stems prostrate to decumbent, 0.1-0.3 (-0.6) m tall; leaf blades 1-3 (-4.5) cm long, mostly 3-10 teeth per side; fruit mostly 3-4 mm wide
          6 Stems mostly erect to ascending, sometimes spreading or partly clambering, 0.5-2 (-3) m tall; leaf blades 3-6.5 cm long, mostly 8-15 teeth per side; fruit mostly 4-5 mm wide.
             7 Young stems densely spreading to antrorsely pilose, the trichomes to 2.0 mm long
        5 Stems often with prickles, the prickles sometimes weak and sparse, sometimes prickles absent; leaf blades generally dark green, mostly plane, 1-1.7 (-1.9) × as long as wide; corollas a mixture of contrasting colors within each inflorescence, differently colored from bud, opening, and/or to the older flowers, rarely the corollas nearly uniform in color, colors of the corolla may include various combinations and intergradations of white, yellow, orange, pink, to reddish orange.
               8 Leaf blades rotund to broadly cordate or ovate-triangular, 1-1.5× as long as wide; leaf teeth spreading, with sinuses 2-5 mm deep; bracts oblanceolate or spatulate
               8 Leaf blades elliptic, 1.7-3× as long as wide; leaf teeth arched forward, with sinuses 1 (-2) mm deep; bracts elliptic or lanceolate.
                 9 Larger blades usually > 4 cm wide, mostly 1-1.5 × as long as wide, the base usually cordate, truncate, to subacute, usually shortly and narrowly cuneate into the petiole; leaves usually not blackening upon drying
                 9 Larger blades usually < 4 cm wide, mostly 1.4-1.7 × as long as wide, the base acute to subtruncate, often gradually tapering from the outer blade base margin to the petiole; younger leaves blackening upon drying
                   10 Shrubs mostly > 6 dm tall; stems ascending to erect; larger leaf blades (typically those lower on the stems) usually > 2.9 cm long, > 1.8 cm wide; [peninsular FL]
                   10 Shrubs mostly < 10 dm tall; stems spreading to ascending; larger leaf blades (typically those lower on the stems) mostly < 4 cm long, < 2.2 cm wide; [Miami-Dade County, FL]