The Unexpected Visitor

 

I grew up loving lantana. The multicoloured flowers. The dark blue berries I loved to eat (in moderation). The butterflies that visited them. I even like the weird smell the leaves gave out when crushed.

During the pandemic, when sunbirds and silverbills started visiting my balcony, I dreamt of getting lantana too, so the butterflies would come. But people discouraged me. I understood they were an invasive species that messes with the biodiversity and is toxic to herbivores. That they have taken over more than 40% of tiger habitats and are almost impossible to get rid of. Though I really wanted the butterflies, I didn't get the lantanas I craved.

Then this plant sprang from nowhere (not really nowhere- from the belly of a fructivorous bird that must have visited). I rarely weed out the plants that spring up in my pots, so let this one grow. By the time I realised it was lantana, I didn't have the heart to uproot it, and even if I did, unless I burnt it, it would have just taken root wherever I trashed it. Maybe I was meant to have the lantana. And the butterflies I hope they attract.

I just need to make sure the plant doesn’t fruit, so the it doesn’t propagate further.