Lantana - What a smell!
from my potted garden
I'm not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but I was rather proud of this pic that I took last summer of my potted lantana flower. I find this flower so intriguing. Take a gander at how in this photo (above) there are three stages of development; starting with the smallest of buds. Of course there are the obvious two pink and yellow blossoms. Then between them, there are two very tiny, green buds that are sitting vertically. And to either side of the vertical buds there sits another set of more developed buds with a hint of pink that are sitting horizontally. Always intriguing to me are the flower clusters or florets, that make up each flower. Nature is so amazing!
latana comes in a variety of color combinations
Then there's the smell of the lantana. It quite different, even for me, a person who loves odd smells. I would say that most people may be off-put, by the smell of the lantana. There's only a hint of sweetness that you'd kind of have to search for. The smell is rather, well 'interesting', a little weird, kind of puts you in the mind of marigolds. It has a sharp, funky, mossy kind of thing going on. And I love it when I happen to brush up against it (as I often do when checking the mailbox for my mail) and its unique fragrance just wafts up to my nose making me go, ummhumm, wow that's different... I love that!
purple verbena
I only discovered the lantana a couple of years ago at the Green Market in Union Square, NYC. They often have unique finds. Not that the lantana is all that unique, but it was new to me. I was looking for a purple verbenas and I found that the lantana is actually from the verbena family. They do have a similar look. I was also quite taken to find that there is an lantana essential oil. It's not really a scent you'd find in natural perfumery, still, I rather like it. Some of the uses for the lantana essential oil - antiviral, anti-tumor is great for treating cuts, ulcers and may help with bronchitis and asthma as well as with viral infections, stimulates the liver and gall bladder. Again, nature is pretty amazing! So the, next time you run into a lantana, brush us against it, put your nose to it or just pinch a little of it for a unique smelling experience.