Waikato Regional Council pest plant staff are asking locals to be on the lookout for pest plant lantana, which can be prevalent on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Lantana is being taken so seriously that it has recently been classified as an eradication species which means it is the council's responsibility to control.

Looks can be very deceiving when it comes to pest plant Lantana (pictured), which is both invasive and poisonous. The Waikato Regional Council is asking locals to contact them with locations of Lantana. Photo: Supplied

Biosecurity officer Benson Lockhart is asking for locals' help to identify locations of the plant so the WRC can 'get in and deal to it quickly”.

'If it gets out of control, lantana can totally smother and replace other species, forming dense thickets causing loss of habitat,” says Benson. 'It actually excretes toxins into surrounding soil which suppress other plants.”

The plant is also poisonous to livestock and rated as one of the worst invasive weeds worldwide.

Lantana is an evergreen shrub, native to tropical America, and was brought to New Zealand as an ornamental shrub because of its attractive flower.

While it looks lovely Lantan is a nasty little plant, says Benson.

'So it would be great if people can let us know wherever they see it.”

If you come across the pest plant lantana please call biosecurity officer Benson Lockhart on 0800 246 732.