''Duranta'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas ...

family,

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. T ...

. It contains 17

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of shrubs and small trees that are native from southern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. They are commonly cultivated as

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate ...

s and

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

s. Duranta is registered as an invasive weed by many councils of Australia. It is a prolific, fast growing weed that is spread by birds from domestic areas to natural reserves. It was introduced and marketed as a hedge plant some years ago. Many people now fight to keep this thorn
pest
under control. It is highly ranked in the most invasive weeds in Australia

Selected species

*'' Duranta dombeyana'' Moldenke *''

Duranta erecta ''Duranta erecta'' is a species of flowering shrub in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native from Mexico to South America and the Caribbean. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical gardens throughout the world, ...

'' L. *''

Duranta mutisii ''Duranta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It contains 17 species of shrubs and small trees that are native from southern Florida to Mexico and South America. They are commonly cultivated as hedges and ornament ...

'' *''

Duranta serratifolia ''Duranta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It contains 17 species of shrubs and small trees that are native from southern Florida to Mexico and South America. They are commonly cultivated as hedges and ornament ...

'' (Griseb.) Kuntze *'' Duranta stenostachya'' Tod. *''

Duranta triacantha ''Duranta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It contains 17 species of shrubs and small trees that are native from southern Florida to Mexico and South America. They are commonly cultivated as hedges and ornament ...

'' Juss.

Gallery

Image:Golden Dew Drops (Duranta repens) in Hyderabad W IMG 7116.jpg, ''

'' in

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Image:Golden Dew Drops (Duranta repens) in Hyderabad W IMG 7114.jpg, ''

'' in

. File:Duranta repens (Golden Dew Drops) W IMG 9162.jpg, ''

'' at

Ananthagiri Hills Ananthagiri Hills is located in Vikarabad district, Telangana, India. The water flows from these hills to Osman Sagar, also known as Gandipet lake, and Himayathsagar. It is one of the dense forests in Telangana. Ananthagiri Temple is loca ...

, in

Rangareddy district Ranga Reddy district is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district headquarters is located at Kongara Kalan Village, Ibrahimpatnam Mandal. The district was named after the former deputy chief minister of the United Andhra Prade ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Image:Duranta (1).jpg File:Fruits of Duranta.JPG, Fruits of duranta Image:Golden Duranta.jpg, Image:Duranta repens00.jpg, Image:HK Sunday Wan Chai Park Verbenaceae Duranta erecta Golden Dewdrops.JPG, Golden Dewdrops

References

Verbenaceae Verbenaceae genera Garden plants {{Verbenaceae-stub