Canna discolor
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| Canna discolor Lindl. |
Canna discolor is a species of the Canna genus, belonging to the family Cannaceae, a native of the Caribbean and tropical Americas. It is a perennial growing to 3m. It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. In the north latitudes it is in flower from August to October, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
More than other Canna species, C. discolor is used extensively in agriculture in Asia. It grows high yields of very large rhizomes, sometimes the size of a man's arm, exceedingly rich in starch.
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[edit] Synonyms
C. achiras, C. esculenta, C. indica 'Edulis', Brick Canna
[edit] Taxonomy
In the last three decades of the 20th century, Canna species have been categorised by two different taxonomists, Professor Paul Maas (and his wife Dr. Hiltje Maas) from Holland and Dr. Nobuyuki Tanaka from Japan. Inevitably, there are differences in their categorisations.
Dr. Maas considers Canna discolor to be a synonym of C. indica L., however, Dr Tanaka's studies have revealed that C. indica can be clearly distinguished from other taxa, as a result he recognises several varieties:
- Canna discolor var. discolor (Lindl.) Nb.Tanaka, 2001
A triploid, sterile both ways.
- Canna discolor var. rubripunctata Nb.Tanaka, 2001
Green leaves with yellow flowers and many red spots. Seed parent sterile.
- Canna discolor var. viridifolia Nb.Tanaka, 2001
[edit] References
- TAXONOMIC STUDIES ON SOME EASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN ASIATIC TAXA OF CANNA (CANNACEAE) Nobuyuki Tanaka, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Tetsuo Koyama and Jin Murata;
