Canna indica

Botanical Description

Canna indica is a perennial plant producing clumps of stems 150 - 300cm tall, with large leaves up to 50cm long and 25cm wide. The stems arise from a large, thick and tuber-like rhizome[ 331 Title Flora of Guatemala Publication Author Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark Website http://www.archive.org/ Publisher Year 1946 - 1976 ISBN Description A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/ ]. With its large leaves sheathing a central stem, the plant has the appearance somewhat like a small banana plant. The plant provides food (especially the root), medicines and a range of commodities. It is often cultivated on a home scale for these uses, especially in S. America and southeast Asia; whilst it is grown on a small scale in Australia as a commercial source of arrowroot. The plant is widely grown through the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zone as an ornamental, being valued especially for its flowers and attractive leaves[ 301 Title Cornucopia II Publication Author Facciola. S. Publisher Kampong Publications, California. Year 1998 ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 Description The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc. ].