Indian shot, Queensland arrowroot, Edible canna
Canna indica

Family: Cannaceae

What it is like

A broad leafed plant with purple leaf sheaths. It is about 1.5 to 2.5 m high. It grows as a perennial. The stems are in clusters. The leaves are large and smooth. They are dark green but can be reddish in some varieties. The leaf base forms a sheath around the stem. The flowers are red and produced at the top of the plant. The petals are small and red and 4-10 mm wide. The fruit is a 3 celled capsule with black seeds. Underground it has a much branched root or rhizome with fattened sections covered with leaf scars. These are often light red on the outside and yellowish white inside. A clump of 15-20 suckers often develops. These starchy tubers are from 6 cm across to 15 cm long. The shape varies. The seeds are black and hard. They are 5-7 mm across.

There are about 10 Canna species. They grow in the tropics and subtropics. They originally came from tropical America.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is grown and used in some of the coastal areas of the tropics and subtropics. It will grow from sea level up to 1600 m. In the Andes it grows between 1,000 and 2,500 m altitude. It needs a heavy fertile soil. It cannot stand strong winds. It does best with an evenly distributed rainfall. It cannot stand waterlogging. It grows in wetlands. It can stand some shade. It needs to be in a frost free location. It has some salt tolerance. It does best where both days and nights are warm. It grows in hardiness zones 8-12. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, American Samoa, Andes, Antilles, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central America, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Europe, Fiji, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guiana, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kiribati, Kurdistan, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Marquesas, Mexico (country/location of origin), Middle East, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rotuma, Sahel, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad, Turkey, Türkiye, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The rhizomes are a source of starch. The rhizomes are eaten after cooking. They are boiled or baked. The leaves and rhizomes are used for animals. Starch can be extracted from the roots. This is achieved by rasping the tubers, then washing the starch out and straining out the fibres. The large starch grains are very digestible. The starch is used to make transparent noodles. The young shoots can be eaten as a green vegetable. Immature seeds are cooked.

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. It is a starchy root crop of some importance in some coastal areas mainly on the Papuan side of Papua New Guinea.

Edible parts

Fruit, root, rhizome, tubers, vegetable, flowers

How it is grown

They can be grown from seed. It is more easy to grow them by dividing the plant. The crowns should not be planted too deeply. The end section of the rhizome is planted. Well developed tubers with one or two undamaged buds should be used. A spacing of 1 m x 1 m is suitable. Tubers are planted about 15 cm deep and need to be kept weed free during early growth. About 2.5 tons of tubers are required to plant a hectare. The tubers are dug from between 6 and 19 months. The tubers can be stored if cool and dry. For starch manufacture they need to be processed immediately.

Harvesting occurs after about 8 months. Parts of the underground root are harvested as needed. High yields of tops and rhizomes are possible. Up to 38 tons of rhizomes and 50 tons of tops have been achieved.

Its other names

Local names

Achera, Achira, Acira, Adalut, African arrowroot, Ambaradeda, Araruta bastarda, Ar-do, Atsera, Australian arrowroot, Balisier, Balisier, Berg, Biru manso, Biru manso, Bungah tasbih, Buthsarana, Caite, Capacho, Chisgua, Cucurds, Dingiza, Dinioka, Dong rieng, Essbare canna, Fanamanu, Ganyong, Gasau, Gontha, Gruya, Imbirg, Kalvazhai, Kana, Kattaye, Kuentas-kuentasan, Mei ren jiao, Meru, Moz fahal, Pann-u, Pipirigallo, Pisang sebiak, Platanillo, Purple arrowroot, Saka siri canna, Sakhu chin, Sembu, Sugu, Te riti, Tous-les-mois, Zembu

Synonyms

Canna achiras Gillies; Canna bidentata Bertol.; Canna cinnabarina Bouché; Canna coccinea Mill.; Canna compacta Roscoe; Canna edulis Ker Gawl.; Canna esculenta Lodd. ex Loudon; Canna humilis Bouché; Canna indica L. var. limbata (Roscoe) Petersen; Canna lanuginosa Roscoe; Canna limbata Roscoe; Canna lutea Mill.; Canna lutea Mill. var. aurantiaca (Roscoe) Regel; Canna lutea Mill. var. genuina Kraenzl.; Canna nepalensis Wall.; Canna orientalis Roscoe; Canna rubricaulis Link; Canna speciosa Roscoe; Canna variabilis Willd.; Canna warszewiczii A.Dietrich;