Feb. 1, 1901.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTtTRIST. 
517 
CANNA OR INDIAN SHOT.* 
General Characters.— Cauoa is a genus of the 
natural order Scit iniineis, to which belong the Plantain 
or Banana, the Cirdamoms, Arrowroot, &c. It con- 
tains np^Tards of sixty species and innumerable 
varieties. The great majority of the former ars 
natives of South America, only one species, Canna 
indica f" Butsaraua " of the Sinhalese), being indi- 
genous in Ceylon. Ordinarily they are characterized 
by a tuberous perennial root stock ; herbaceous 
leafy stems, 3 to 6 feet high; large oblong Plantain- 
like sheathing leaves, green or brouza, with a strong 
mid-1 il) and prominent parallel veins ; the inflorescence 
being a spike or raceme produced at the apex of 
the stem. The flower includes three small greenish 
sepals which remain attached to the fruit or ovary 
after the rest of the flower falls away ; three narrow 
petals which are somewhat showier than the former, 
and within these again a number (ono, three, four, 
or even moref ) of other patal-like brightly-coloured 
leaves, which constitute the most showy part of tha 
flower. One of these bears an anther and is the 
stamen of tha flower ; the others have no anther, 
and as they are usually supposed to have been 
derived from stamens which, as in double roses, have 
lost their anthers and become petals, they are often 
called staminodes. The only fertile (anther-bearing) 
stamen is situated in the middle of the flower, next 
to the petal-like stigma, the anther being attached 
down its edge. From this petaloid character of the 
stamens the flower may be considered to be naturally 
"double." The fruit, persisting on tha flower-stalk, 
is round and oblong, with a warty surface ; in the 
young or ovary state it contains many ovules (potential 
seeds), but even when growing wild only one or two 
of these become developed into fertile seeds. Th« 
latter when ripe are round, black, of the size of a 
pea, and very hard: hence the name " Indian Shot." 
The disposition to produce seed is still less in culti- 
vated varieties, and, in the case uf the " Orchid- 
flowering " class and some others, seed is seldom 
or never yielded. Thus the increase gained by the 
hybridist in size and brilliancy of flower may ba 
said to be at the expense of the reproductive func- 
tions. 
Barrenness in the fruit may however " arise from 
other causes. Seeds never seem to be produced 
here by Canna, edulis (" Butsarana "), this being no 
doubt duo to long cultivation and to the practice of 
propagating the plant exclusively by meant of iti 
ynderground tubers. 
As regards modes of propagation, infertility in 
Cannas may not be considered a disadvantage, except 
from the hybridist's point of view, as the quickest 
and best means of increase is by division of tha 
crowns ("stools"), the seeds being so hard that, 
even if steepad for some time in boiling water 
previous to sowing, they usually take several months 
to germinate ; consequently filing the outer coat of 
the seeds is occasionally resorted to, whilst burying 
them f >r six months in a manure pit is also re- 
commended. 
The beauty of these plants is not their only featura 
of interest, for some are also of economic importanca 
on account of their underground tubers which yield 
an article of food, being ground and made into a 
flour. The well-known arrowroot " Tous-les-moia " 
is furnished by C. edulis, a native of the West 
Indies, but introduced and cultivated in most tropical 
countries. Of less utilitarian value, however, ia 
C. indica, the real " Butsarana " of the Sinhalese, 
who gave it this name, which means " help from 
God," on account of the seeds being used in rosariei 
by Buddhist worshippers. 
' Circular Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon Dec- 
ember, 1900. 
•]■ Usually fine in cultivated varieties.— Curator. 
64 
HiSTony.— The introduction of tho first Canna (C. 
indica) into Europe dates back to about 1570. With 
the exception of this no other species seems to have 
attracted notice until about the beginning of the 19th 
century, when several species were introduced for 
the first time into European gardens, At that time 
these were grown chiefly for tha beauty of their 
foliage, and on this account became, and are now, 
much in favour in temperate countries for 
planting out in groups in the open during the 
summer months for sub-tropical effect. Therefore tha 
largerand more robust the plants the more effective wera 
they for this as well as general decorative purposes 
where foliage only is concerned, ami clumps growing 
10 to 19 feat high wore no uncommon oocurranoo. 
Consequently any iaiprovemont attempted by the 
cultivator was directed towards the increase in siza 
of stems and foliage. Since 1803 a great gain in eiza 
and brilliancy of flower has been gradually gained by 
the hybridist, which has resulted in the modern 
varieties of Cannas— a most showy class of " flower 
ing plants," very different in the form and appearance 
of floral characters from those of their progenitor*. 
Few productions of recent times have created mora 
general interest than the advent of these, or hava 
proved a more valuable acquisition to floriculture. 
Robust growth of foliage may now be regarded rather 
as a disadvantage than otherwise, as plants of a 
dwarflsh habit are tho most satisfactory for general 
purposes. In the Tropics, where Cannas have their 
natural home, probably the most popular class at 
present are the "Orchid-flowered" forms, a designa- 
tion which has been applied on account of the general 
resemblance of the flowers to those of a Cattleya. 
They are readily distinguished by their large and 
usually widely expanded and flat-surfaced flower*, 
which have invariably a rich velvety tint. Theaa 
date their origin from 1893, being the result of 
crosses obtained by Messrs Dammann <fc Co., of 
Naples, jDetweea Canna flaccida (a red flOiVered species 
of the Southern Unitea States) and garden varietie*. 
Many of the older so-called " Gladiolus-flowered " 
type are not however to be despised, and in soma 
respects are even preferable to their more recent 
congeners, especially for use as cut-flowers or for 
growing in pots or boxes. 
Cultivation. — Few plants are more easily grown 
than Cannas, or more satisfactorily repay cultivatioa 
for ornamental purposes. Their evergreen foliage 
and perpetual habit of flowering render them excep- 
tionally useful, particularly in tropical gardens, where 
the variety of suitable-sized and showy flowering 
plants is comparatively limited. Though in Europe 
Cannas have an enforced period of rest in the 
winter months, during which time their tubers are 
stored away and kept dry, here they can be grown 
all the year round, especially at elevations below 
4,000 feet. They are naturally suited to a hot moiit 
climate, and it is under these conditions that their 
ornamental character is best developed. Their oulti- 
vatiou is very simple, the chief requirements being 
rich open soil and a liberal supply of farmyard 
manure. In this they do well, and require but little 
attention beyond watering in dry weather and ocoa- 
aional mulching and forking up of the surface of 
the soil. Before planting, the ground should be deeply 
dug or trenched and heavily manured near the sur- 
face, Cannas being essentially surface-feeding plauta 
young off-shoots or small divisions of the crowm 
("stools") may then be planted out 3 to 3 feel 
apart. Any portion of the crown will grow and 
rapidly form new plants, provided it is furnished 
with a bud or a short tuberous root-like structure ; 
this is really an underground stem, bearing rudiment- 
ary scale-like leaves, and will in due course develop 
into an ordinary stem with foliage, &a. In about 
six weeks after planting, the plants will begin to 
yield a display of flowers, which will be continued 
for several months. They quickly form clumps and 
gradually spread over the ground, becoming in time 
overorowded ; they exhaust themselves, so to apeals 
