Canna, Canna Lily, Indian Shot 'Anchiras'

I grew these from seed last year. I bought them from 2 sources, J.L.Hudson and another source. Equal success with both. One had redder ...Read Morefoliage and darker flowers, the other bright green foliage and brighter red flowers. I chose to start them from seed because they're edible and have many uses. We haven't tried the roots yet. But this plant goes way back see "Lost crops of the Incas", on the web. Important in Peru and Ecuador, but also eaten in Hawaii, Vietnam, Mexico, West Indies, Venezuela, Bolivia, Australia, Philipines, Indonesia, etc. The vietnamese use them to make cellophane noodles. Wikipedia says they have, "the largest starch particles of all plant life." While the flowers aren't spectacular like garden Cannas breed for flowers, they are pretty. And the foliage is lovely too. They are planted as living fences and windbreaks in Ecuador. (Here in S. CA, the Santa Ana winds shredded the leaf edges). And in Mexico they use the leaves for wrapping tamales.

I am not sure whether this is indica or edulis. The red flower is small but has a charm all it's own. There is a Japanese restaurant ne...Read Morear here that has nothing but this in the long planters outside the restaurant - it is stunning. I have found these to be more frost tolerant than other cannas. By that I mean that when the frost takes them to the ground they come back in Spring and reliably bloom first year. Grow fast from fresh seed.

I think this is Canna Edulis, rather than Indica. The latter are the ornamental variety. Edulis flowers are red & smaller than most Indic...Read Morea flowers. How else one may tell the plants apart, I have no idea. There seem to be different strains of Edulis, distinguishable by differing leaf shades & variegations.
There was once an industry in Queensland, Australia in propagating them for their starchy rhizomes.

Not a very exciting flower for a canna, but nice. Parts of this plant are used for feeding livestock in various contries. From the West...Read More Indies and S America. Flowers are upright and small wth orange, yellow and red. Cultivars exist with different colored leaves. Blooms all year round in the tropics (or a greenhouse).