Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Lantana camara
"An invasive alien ornamental shrub that has colonised nearly half of India's forests and degrades wildlife habitat"
Lantana camara is an invasive alien shrub, native to tropical America, introduced to India in the early 19th century as an ornamental garden plant. It has since spread aggressively across forests and scrublands, forming dense thickets that suppress native grasses and undergrowth. It degrades the grassland habitat that herbivore prey species depend on, thereby affecting predators such as tigers, and is extremely difficult and expensive to eradicate once established. It is one of the most damaging invasive species in India.
The State of India's Environment 2026 report estimated that Lantana camara covers nearly half of India's forests and scrublands (peer-reviewed studies suggest closer to 40 per cent), linking it directly to tiger habitat stress. UPSC tests invasive alien species under GS3 (environment and biodiversity) as a leading driver of biodiversity loss, recognised by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the IPBES.
- 1 Invasive alien shrub native to tropical America; introduced to India in the early 19th century as an ornamental
- 2 Estimated to cover nearly half of India's forests and scrublands per the State of India's Environment 2026 report
- 3 Forms dense thickets that suppress native grasses, degrading grassland habitat for prey species
- 4 Extremely difficult and costly to eradicate once established
- 5 Invasive alien species are a leading driver of global biodiversity loss, recognised by the CBD and IPBES
- 6 Other notable invasives in India include Prosopis juliflora, Parthenium hysterophorus, and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)
