Canna glauca
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 Canna glauca, aquatic cannas.
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| Canna glauca L. |
Canna glauca is a species of the Canna genus, a member of the family Cannaceae. It originates from the wetlands of tropical America and was introduced to England in 1730. It is a perennial growing to 1.5m. 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).
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[edit] Synonyms
- C. augustifolia
- C. glauca var. rubrolutea
- C. 'Louisiana canna'
- C. 'Mexicanna'
- C. schlectendaliana
- C. stricta
[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.
Both agree that C. glauca is a distinct species, but in addition, Dr. Tanaka also recognises a separate variety.
[edit] Canna glauca var. glauca L.
It is aquatic species, with narrow, blue-green (glaucous) leaves, atop of which sit its large, delicate, pale yellow flowers. It grows as a marginal plant in up to about 15cm of still or slow-moving water.
[edit] Canna glauca var. siamensis (Kraenzl) Nb. Tanaka, 2001
This is a contentious variety as it occurs widely in South and Southeast Asia, where it is supposed to have differentiated within the past few centuries.
[edit] Cultivation
The species prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The preferred soil is acid, neutral and basic (alkaline). It cannot grow in the shade and requires moist soil.
[edit] References
- Johnson's Gardening Dictionary of 1856.
[edit] External links
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: New Views: Language of Flowers: Canna glauca
- PRINCE, LINDA M.* and W. JOHN KRESS. Smithsonian Institution, NMNH - Botany, MRC-166, Washington, DC 20560-0166. - Species boundaries in Canna (Cannaceae): evidence from nuclear ITS DNA sequence data.
