2 BULLETIN . 54, HAWAII EXPERIMENT STATION 
station had repeatedly made experimental starch extractions to 
demonstrate the possibilities of the crop. Much interest is at present 
being manifested in the growing of edible canna for commercial 
starch production, and thousands of .acres of the uplands, which 
are not suited to pineapple and sugar cane growing, have shown con- 
siderable adaptability to the crop. 
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION 
Edible canna is a member of the family Cannacese, and is closely 
related to the common flowering varieties which are grown as orna- 
mentals in many parts of the world (fig. 1) . It is perennial in tropical 
Fig. 1.— A field of edible canna ready for harvesting. 
countries, and is propagated either by means of young shoots which 
are detached from the parent stool, or by underground fleshy corms, 
commonly called tubers or rootstocks, which are very rich in starch. 
The tubers vary from cylindrical to tapering and spherical to oval, 
ranging from 2 to 3J inches in diameter and from 4 to 6 inches in 
length (fig. 2). The stems are usually stout, and are tinged with 
dark lavender which is rather pronounced at the base of the very 
young shoots. They grow in clumps averaging 12 stems each, 
attain a height of 4 to 8 feet, depending upon climatic and soil con- 
ditions, and blossom in 4 to 6 months in Hawaii. The flowers are 
bright red with narrow petals. The seed pods are usually large when 
normally developed, but in most cases produce no viable seed. 
