Canna

Canna, a genus of Marantaceae, with edible rhizomes, ornamental foliage, the leaves being strikingly convolute, and showy yellow, orange or red flowers. The perianth, five of the six stamens, and the style are petaloid, and the capsule contains numerous round, hard, black seeds, whence the name Indian shot is sometimes applied to these plants. The starch-grains in the rhizomes are the largest known. Tous-les-mois. originally Touloula, is the starch of a variety of C. Indica grown in St. Kitt's, and is a substitute for arrowroot, whilst a turmeric is obtained from another species at Sierra Leone. Cannas are much planted as "foliage-plants."