Canna iridiflora

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Cannaceae

Herbs perennial . Stems erect , robust . Rhizomes tuberous . Leaves alternate, spirally arranged , large, veins pinnate and parallel, base sheathing . Inflorescence a terminal raceme or panicle of showy, 1- or 2-flowered cincinni. Flowers bisexual , asymmetric , mostly large. Sepals 3, green, free , persistent . Corolla lobes 3, green or colored , basally connate into a tube and adnate to staminodes. Staminodes and stamen in 2 whorls: outer whorl with (2 or) 3 conspicuous , petaloid staminodes, usually red or yellow; inner whorl with a reflexed staminode (labellum), narrower than outer staminodes, and a fertile stamen; filament petaloid; anther 1-loculed, adnate to apical margin of filament. Ovary inferior, 3-loculed; ovules numerous per locule; placentation axile . Style petaloid. Fruit a capsule, 3-valved, usually warty. Seeds many, globose ; endosperm copious ; embryo straight.

One genus and ten to twenty species: tropical and subtropical America; one species (introduced ) in China.[1]

Genus Canna

Herbs, rhizomatous , 1--2[--5] m , forming small to large monotypic stands. Leaves green [bronze or magenta in hybrids and cultivars], often glaucous [lanuginose]; blade narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic , 20--70 cm ´ 15--30 cm, base gradually or abruptly tapered, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescences: peduncles green [magenta], often glaucous; bracts green [magenta], often glaucous; primary bracts to 30 cm, secondary bracts to 20 cm; floral bracts 0.5--3 ´ 0.3--1.5 cm, papery . Flowers nearly sessile, subtended by pedicel bract; sepals usually green [magenta], often less than half size of petals; petals sharply reflexed or not, green or brightly colored , 4--15 cm, generally shorter than staminodes; staminodes pale yellow to deep crimson red; labellum 3--9 ´ 4--10 cm; ovary green [magenta]. Capsules brown, 1.5--6 ´ 2--4.5 cm, warty, becoming papery. Seeds 5--25[--75] per capsule, medium to dark brown or black, 4--10 ´ 4--8 mm.

Species 10: tropical and subtropical Americas with some species naturalized and many cultivated hybrids.

Until recently taxonomists recognized more than 50 species in Canna, but that number has now been reduced to ten (P. J. M. Maas 1985; P. J. M. Maas and H. Maas 1988) based mainly on new concepts of biogeographical history, the extent of hybridization during cultivation, and the plasticity of morphological features, especially in the highly polymorphic species C. indica.

Little has been published regarding pollination of these plants . The two North American species with pale yellow flowers, Canna glauca and C. flaccida, flower at dusk and may be pollinated by hawkmoths. Several neotropical species with bright red or orange flowers are hummingbird-pollinated. Nectar, which accumulates at the base of the floral tube , is the apparent reward in all cases. Pollen is shed from the bisporangiate anther onto the adjacent style before the flower opens (secondary pollen presentation), which usually results in self-pollination ; thus, greenhouse-grown plants readily set seed. The large seed size and lack of reward for potential animal dispersal agents suggests that seeds are dispersed by gravity and water. Seeds can germinate and produce reproductive shoots in a single growing season .

Both Canna flaccida and C. glauca, as well as several Central American species, are hosts to the larva of the skipper butterfly Calpodes ethlius (Cramer), ), which builds protective tents by folding or rolling the apices of the leaves.

The most common use of Canna by Europeans and North Americans is as ornamentals . Both the hybrids and some species are grown for their striking foliage and large, delicate flowers. Two hybrids commonly grown in both temperate and tropical zones are C. ×generalis L. H. Bailey and C. ×orchioides L. H. Bailey. The former is apparently a cross between C. indica and C. glauca, or C. iridiflora Ruiz & and Pavóon and the latter between C. ×generalis and C. flaccida (L. H. Bailey 1924; J. W. Donahue 1965) . These hybrids are usually sterile , although they may persist in cultivation.

The seeds of Canna indica are used as beads (especially for rosaries) and in gourds to form rattles . The rhizomes are used to make a form of arrowroot. The vegetation and rhizomes have been used as medicinals for both humans and domesticated animals.[2]

Physical Description

Biology

Growth

Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Achirida iridiflora (Ruiz & Pav.) Horan.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 21-Jun-2005

Similar Species

Members of the genus Canna

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 570 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

C. altensteinii (Canna) · C. americanallis var. Variegata f. ruminoides (Variegated Canna) · C. aurantiaca (Canna Lily Canna Aurantiaca) · C. bangii (Canna Lily Canna Bangii) · C. brasiliensis (Canna Lily Canna Brasiliensis) · C. compacta (Canna Lily Canna Compacta) · C. discolor (Canna Lily Canna Discolor) · C. esculenta (Canna Lily Canna Esculenta) · C. flaccida (Bandana of the Everglades) · C. generalis (Canna Lily) · C. glauca (Louisiana Canna) · C. glauca 'Endeavour' (Endeavour Aquatic Canna Lily Canna Glauca) · C. glauca 'Erebus' (Erebus Aquatic Canna Lily Canna Glauca) · C. glauca 'Fuchsia Fantasy' (Fuchsia Fantasy Canna Lily) · C. glauca 'Longwood Hybrid' (Longwood Canna) · C. glauca 'Panache' (Panache Aquatic Canna Lily Canna Glauca) · C. glauca 'Ra' (Ra Aquatic Canna Lily Canna Glauca) · C. glauca 'Taney' (Taney Aquatic Canna Lily Canna Glauca) · C. indica (Canna) · C. indica var. maculata (Canna Lily) · C. indica 'Alberich' (Alberich Indian Shot Canna Indica) · C. indica 'Anchiras' (Anchiras Tous Les Mois Canna Indica) · C. indica 'Belize' (Belize Canna Lily) · C. indica 'Crozy's New Hybrids' (Crozy's New Hybrids Canna Lily) · C. indica 'Mactro' (Tropicanna® Gold Canna) · C. indica 'Musafolia' (Musafolia Banana Canna Canna Indica) · C. indica 'Phasion' (Tropicanna® Canna) · C. indica 'Purpurea' (Edible Canna) · C. indica 'Red Stripe' (Canna Lily) · C. indica 'Rosea' (Rosea Canna Lily) · C. iridiflora (Canna Lily Canna Iridiflora) · C. jacobiniflora (Canna) · C. lambertii (Lambert's Canna) · C. lanuginosa (Canna Lily Canna Lanuginosa) · C. liliiflora (Canna Lily Canna Liliiflora) · C. lumbautum (Canna Lily) · C. lutea (Yellow Canna) · C. 'Musifolia' (Banana Canna Canna Musifolia) · C. 'Musifolia Grande' (Grande Banana Canna Canna Musifolia) · C. neglecta (Broadleaf Canna) · C. orchiodes (Orchid Canna) · C. orchioides (Orchid Canna Canna Orchioides) · C. orientalis (Canna Lily Canna Orientalis) · C. paniculata (Canna Lily Canna Paniculata) · C. patens (Canna Lily Canna Patens) · C. pertusa (Canna) · C. speciosa (Canna Lily Canna Speciosa) · C. sylvestris (Canna) · C. tuerckheimii (Canna Lily Canna Tuerckheimii) · C. var. Oiseau De Feu (Firebird Canna) · C. warszewiczii (Canna Lily Canna Warszewiczii) · C. x (Canna Lily) · C. x ehemanii (Canna Lily Canna X Ehemanii) · C. × generalis (Tropicanna Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Adam's Orange' (Adam's Orange Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'African Scarlet Speckle' (African Scarlet Speckle Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Afterglow' (Afterglow Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Aida' (Aida Canna Lily) · C. x generalis'Aires' (Aires Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Alaska' (Alaska Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Alfred Cole' (Alfred Cole Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Allegheny' (Allegheny Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Alyse' (Alyse Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Amazing Grace' (Amazing Grace Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Amazon Butterfly' (Amazon Butterfly Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Ambassador' (Ambassador Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Ambassadour' (Ambassadour Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Ambrosia' (Ambrosia Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'America' (America Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Angele Martin' (Angele Martin Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Angel Pink' (Angel Pink Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Annaei' (Annaei Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Anthony De Crozy' (Anthony De Crozy Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Apache Blaze' (Apache Blaze Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Aphrodite' (Aphrodite Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Apricot Dream' (Apricot Dream Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Apricot Frost' (Apricot Frost Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Apricot Ice' (Apricot Ice Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Aquarius' (Aquarius Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Aranalyom' (Aranalyom Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Arctic' (Arctic Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Argentia' (Argentia Canna Lily) · C. x generalis'Aristote' (Aristote Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Assaut' (Assaut Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Australia' (Australia Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Autumn Dragon' (Autumn Dragon Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Aztec' (Aztec Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Bangkok Yellow' (Bangkok Yellow Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Beloved' (Beloved Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Bengal Tiger' (Bengal Tiger Canna) · C. x generalis 'Bill Johnson' (Bill Johnson Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Bittersweet' (Bittersweet Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Black Knight' (Black Knight Canna) · C. x generalis 'Black Magic' (Black Magic Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Black Velvet' (Black Velvet Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Blushing Beauty' (Blushing Beauty Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Boca Blue' (Boca Blue Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Bonfire' (Bonfire Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Bonnezeaux' (Bonnezeaux Canna Lily) · C. x generalis 'Borneo' (Canna)

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Further Reading

• A dictionary of modern gardening. Philadelphia, Lea and Blanchard, 1847. url p. 123.
• A practical guide to garden plants, containing descriptions of the hardiest and most beautiful annuals and biennials, hardy herbaceous and bulbous perennials, hardy water and bog plants, flowering and ornamental trees and shrubs, conife London;Longmans, Green, 1901. url .
• An introduction to botany, by John Lindley. London, Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, 1832. url p. 530.
• An introduction to botany. By John Lindley. London, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1848. url p. 393.
• Annual report of the Director of Forestry. Manila [etc.] url p. 45.
• Bulbs and tuberous-rooted plants: their history, description, methods of propagation and complete directions for their successful culture in the garden, dwelling and greenhouse / by C.L. Allen. New York: O. Judd, 1919. url p. 54.
• Bulbs and tuberous-rooted plants; their history, description, methods of propagation and complete directions for their successful culture in the garden, dwelling and greenhouse, by C.L. Allen. New York: Orange Judd Co., 1893. url p. 54.
• Bulletin / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Washington: G.P.O., 1901-1913. url p. 75.
• Cultivated plants, their propagation and improvement. Edinburgh, W. Blackwood & Sons, 1877. url p. 392.
• Cyclopedia of American horticulture, comprising suggestions for cultivation of horticultural plants, descriptions of the species of fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants sold in the United by L. H. Bailey. .. assisted by William Miller. .. and many expert cultivators and botanists. London: The Macmillan company, 1909. url p. 238.
• Edwards's botanical register. 29 1843 London: James Ridgway, 1829-1847. url , .
• Edwards, S. T. The Botanical register: consisting of coloured figures of. .. 8 1822 London: Printed for James Ridgway, 1815-1828. url , , , , , , , .
• Flora of Peru / by J. Francis Macbride. 13 1936 Chicago, U.S.A.: Field Museum of Natural History, [1936] url p. 740.
• Garden and forest; a journal of horticulture, landscape art and forestry. New York: The Garden and forest publishing co., 1888-97. url p. 616.
• Gardening. Chicago, the Gardening Co., 1892-1925. url p. 234.
• Hand-list of tender momocotyledons, excluding Orchideae, cultivated in the Royal Gardens, Kew. London, Printed for H. M. S. O., by Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1897. url p. 23.
• Hand-list of tender monocotyledons, excluding Orchideae, cultivated in the Royal Gardens, Kew. 1897. LondonPrinted for H.M. Stationery Off. by Eyre and Spottiswoode1897 url p. 23.
• Handbook of flower pollination based upon Hermann Müller's work 'The fertilisation of flowers by insects'; tr. by J.R. Ainsworth Davis. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1906. url p. 15.
• Handbook of flower pollination: based upon Hermann Mu?ller's work 'The fertilisation of flowers by insects' / Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906-09. url .
• How plants are trained to work for man / by Luther Burbank; prefatory note by David Starr Jordan. New York: P.F. Collier & Son Company, c1921. url p. 35.
• Johnson's Gardeners' dictionary and cultural instructor. London, A. T. De La Mare printing and publishing co., ltd.[1916] url p. 164.
• Loddiges, C. L. The botanical cabinet: consisting of coloured delineations of plants, from all countries, with a short account of each, directions for management, &c, &c /by Conrad Loddiges & Sons; the plates by George Cooke... 10 1824 London: John & Arthur Arch. .., 1817-1833. url .
• Luther Burbank, his methods and discoveries and their practical application; London, Luther Burbank Press, 1914-15. url .
• Luther Burbank: his methods and discoveries and their practical application / prepared from his original field notes covering more than 100, 000 experiments made during forty years devoted to plant improvement; with the assistance of the Luther Burbank Society and its entire me London: Luther Burbank Press, 1914-15. url p. 238.
• Monandrian plants of the order Scitamineae: chiefly drawn from living specimens in the botanic garden at Liverpool, arranged according to the system of Linnaeus with descriptions and observations /by William Roscoe. 1828 Liverpool: George Smith, 1828. url canna iridiflora.
• Nicholson, G. The illustrated dictionary of gardening: a practical and scientific encyclopædia of horticulture for gardeners and botanists /edited by George Nicholson; assisted by J.W.H. Trail. .. and J. Garrett. .. 9 1884 London: L.U. Gill, [1884]-88. url p. 441.
• Plant-breeding, New York, The Macmillan company, 1915. url p. 266.
• Plant-breeding; being six lectures upon the amelioration of domestic plants, London, Macmillan & co., ltd., 1906. url p. 142.
• Strasburger's Text-book of botany. Rewritten by Dr. Hans Fitting. .. Dr. Ludwig Jost. .. Dr. Heinrich Schenck. .. Dr. George Karsten. London, Macmillan, 1921. url p. 746.
• Suggestions received by the Agricultural & Horticultural Society of India for extending the cultivation and introduction of useful and ornamental plants: with a view to the improvement of the agricultural and commercial resources of India / compiled by Henry Harpur Spry. Calcutta: Bishop's College Press, 1841. url p. 28.
• The American florist: a weekly journal for the trade. Chicago: American Florist Company, [1885-1931] url p. 1269, p. 153, p. 478.
• The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology being a continuation of the Annals combined with Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History. London, Taylor and Francis, Ltd. url p. 293.
• The English flower garden and home grounds: design and arrangement shown by existing examples of gardens in Great Britain and Ireland, followed by a description of the plants, shrubs, and trees for the open-air garden and their culture / by W. Robinson. London: J. Murray, 1911. url p. 477.
• The Garden: an illustrated weekly journal of gardening in all its branches. London: [s.n., url , , p. 101, p. 150, p. 151, p. 154, p. 207, p. 235, p. 294, p. 30, p. 323, p. 330, p. 335, p. 346, p. 348, p. 373, p. 406, p. 407, p. 42, p. 440, p. 526, p. 54, p. 584, p. 597, p. 66, p. 76.
• The Gardener's monthly and horticulturist. Philadelphia, Pa.: Charles H. Marot, 1876-1888. url p. 387, p. 387, p. 71, p. 71.
• The Gardener. Edinburgh;W. Blackwood and sons, 1867-1882. url p. 188.
• The Gardeners' chronicle and agricultural gazette. 1857 London: published for the proprietors, 1844-1873. url p. 255.
• The Gardeners' chronicle. 1841 London: published for the proprietors, 1841-1843. url p. 54.
• The Gardeners' chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. London: [Gardeners Chronicle], 1874-1955. url , p. 108, p. 189, p. 193, p. 286, p. 298, p. 342, p. 347, p. 370, p. 43, p. 44, p. 470, p. 715.
• The Illustrated dictionary of gardening: a practical and scientific encyclopaedia of horticulture for gardeners and botanists / edited by George Nicholson. ..; assisted by J.W.H. Trail. .. and J. Garrett. ... London: L. Upcott Gill; 1887-1889. url p. 262, p. 377.
• The Journal of horticulture, cottage gardener and country gentlemen. London: George W. Johnson and Robert Hogg, 1861-1877. url p. 493.
• The bulb book; or, Bulbous and tuberous plants for the open air, stove, and greenhouse, containing particulars as to descriptions, culture, propagation, etc., of plants from all parts of the world having bulbs, cor by John Weathers...Illustrated by the author. London: J. Murray, 1911. url p. 133.
• The gardener's magazine and register of rural & domestic improvement. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, 1826-1844. url p. 110.
• The standard cyclopedia of horticulture; a discussion, for the amateur, and the professional and commercial grower, of the kinds, characteristics and methods of cultivation of the species of plants grown in the regions of the United States a Illustrated with colored plates, four thousand engravings in the text, and ninety-six full-page cuts. New York, Macmillan, 1919 [c1914] url p. 654.
• The subtropical garden, or, Beauty of form in the flower garden / by W. Robinson London: J. Murray, 1879 url p. 90.
• Through Angola, a coming colony, by Colonel J. C. B. Statham. .. With 138 illustrations, 2 maps and 4 charts. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood & sons, 1922. url p. 351.
• Travels of Ruiz, Pavón, and Dombey in Peru and Chile (1777-1788) / by Hipólito Ruiz; with an epilogue and official documents added by Agustín Jesús Barreiro; translation by B.E. Dahlgren. 21 1940 Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1940. url p. 230.
• Vernacular list of trees, shrubs, and woody climbers in the Madras Presidency. Madras, Printed by the Superintendant, Government Press, 1915. url p. 1032, p. 380, p. 599, p. 600, p. 811, p. 903, p. 905.
• Wu Te-lin & Chen Sen-jen. 1981. Cannaceae. In: Wu Te-lin, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 16(2): 152--158.
• Bailey, L.. H. 1924. Manual of Cultivated Plants.
• Donahue, J. W. 1965. History, breeding and cultivation of the canna. Amer. Hort. Mag. 44: 84--91.
• Gade, D. W. 1966. Achira, the edible canna, its cultivation and use in the Peruvian Andes. Econ. Bot. 20: 407--415.
• Segeren, W. and P. J. M. Maas. 1971. The genus Canna in northern South America. Acta Bot. Neerl. 20: 663--680.
• Tomlinson, P. B. 1961. The anatomy of Canna. J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 56: 467--473.
• Young, A. M. 1982. Notes on the interaction of the skipper butterfly Calpodes ethlius (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) with its larval host plant Canna edulis (Cannaceae) in Mazatlan, State of Sinaloa, Mexico. J. New York Entomol. Soc. 90(2): 99--114.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 28, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• The International Plant Names Index. Accessed Jan 19, 2007.
• World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Release date: November 27, 2009

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

• Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (Costa Rica): Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
• Missouri Botanical Garden

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3488589
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-223921
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:796025-1
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 796025-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 724465

Footnotes

1. Delin Wu & W. John Kress "Cannaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 378. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Canna". in Flora of North America Vol. 22. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

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