A 
CAN 
4, Canna (Luted) foliis ovatis petiolatis nervofis fpatha 
floribus longiore. Canna with oval , obtufe , nervous 
leaves, having foot-ftalks, .and a longer hood to the flower. 
Cannacorus (lore kiteo punctato. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 
3 6 7 - 
5. Canna ( Glauca ) foliis lanceolatis petiolatis enervi- 
bus. Prod. Leyd. u. Canna -with fpear-Jhaped fmooth 
leaves having foot-ftdks. Cannacorus glaucophyllus, 
ampliore flore, Iridis paluftris facie. Hort. Elth. 69. 
The firft: fort grows naturally in both Indies : the 
inhabitants of the Britifh. {(lands' in America, call all 
the fpecies, without diftindion Indian Shot, from the 
roundnefs and hardnefs of the feeds. 
This plant hath a thick, fiefhy, tuberous root, 
which divides into many irregular knobs, fpreading 
wide near the iurface of the ground, fending out 
many large oval leaves without any order •, thefe, at 
their firft appearance, are twilled like a horn, but af- 
terwards expand and are near a foot long, and five 
inches broad in the middle, leffening gradually to both 
ends, and terminating in points. They have many 
large tranfverfe veins running from the midrib to the 
fides, which are prominent on their under fide ; and 
between each of thefe run two fmaller, parallel, point- 
ed veins, which are peculiar to this fpecies. The 
ftalks are herbaceous, rifing four feet high, encom- 
paffed by the broad leafy foot- ftalks of the leaves ; 
thefe are compreffed on two fides •, at the upper part 
of the ftalk the flowers are produced in loole fpikes, 
each being at firft covered by a leafy hood, which 
afterward {lands below the flower, and turns to a 
brown colour. Each flower hath one petal, which 
is cut almoft to the bottom into fix (lender fegments, 
the three upper being hroadeft j thefe are of a pale 
red colour. The flower is encompaffed by a three- 
leaved empalement, which fits upon a fmall, roundifh, 
rough germen, which, after the flower is fallen, fwells 
to a large fruit or capfule oblong and rough, having 
three longitudinal furrows, and is crowned by the 
three-leaved empalement of the flower which remains. 
When the fruit is ripe, the capfule opens length- 
ways into three cells, which are filled with round, 
hard, black, fhining feeds. The principal feafon of 
thefe plants flowering, is in June, July, and Auguft. 
As this fort is a native of the warmeft parts of A- 
merica, it requires to be placed in a moderate ftove 
in winter, otherwife the roots will decay. I have 
frequently ; tried to keep thefe roots through the win- 
ter in a green-houfe, but could not fucceed •, for al- 
though fome have efcaped, yet they were fo much 
weakened by the cold, as not to recover their ftrength 
the ‘following fummer, fo as to flower in any tolerable 
degree of perfection ; fo that I have fince conftantly 
kept them in winter in a moderate ftove, where they 
always flower in that feafon, at which time they make 
a fine appearance ♦, and in the fummer, place them 
abroad in a flickered fituation with other tender exotic 
plants, where they flower again, and produce ripe 
feeds annually. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in Carolina, and 
fome of the other northern provinces of America. 
The leaves of this fort are longer than thofe of the 
former, and terminate in fliarper points. The ftalks 
grow taller, and the fegments of the flower are much 
narrower , the colour is a pale red, fo it makes no 
great appearance. The feeds are like thofe of the 
former fort. If the roots of this fort are planted in 
warm borders and a dry foil, they will live through 
the winter in the open air. I have plants of this fort 
in the Chelfea garden, which have furvived twelve 
winters in a fouth-wefl border without cover, and 
flower well every year, but do not produce feeds. 
The third fort hath larger leaves than either of the 
former •, the ftalks rife much taller. 1 have received 
the feeds of this from America, and from the Bra- 
zils, by the title of Wild Plantain. The flower- 
flails of this fort rife more than fix feet high. The 
leaves are very large, and thofe near the root have 
long foot-ftalks. The flowers are produced in larger 
fpikes than thofe of the former fort, and are or a 
C A N 
much brighter fcarlet. The feed-veflels are longer, 
and the feeds larger than thofe •, and thefe differences 
are permanent from feeds, fo that I make no doubt 
of its being a diftinCt fpecies. 
The fourth fort is lefs common in America than ei- 
ther of the former. I received the feeds of this from 
India, but have had two varieties arife from the feeds, 
one with a plain yellow, and the other a fpotted 
flower, which I find are apt to change from one to the 
other, when propagated by feeds. This fort hath 
Ihorter and rounder leaves than either of the former 
forts. The ftalks feidom rife higher than three feet, 
and the fpikes of flowers are like thofe of the firft fpe- 
cies, excepting the colour of the flowers. 
The feeds of the firth fort I received from Cartha- 
gena in New Spain, in the year 1 733, which produced 
very ftrong plants the firft year, fome of which flow- 
ered the fame autumn. The roots of this are much 
larger than either of the former forts, and ftrike down 
ftrong flefliy fibres deep in the ground. The ftalks 
rife (even or eight feet high. The leaves are near 
two feet long, narrow, fmooth, and of a fea-green 
colour. The flowers are produced in fiiort thick 
fpikes at the extremity, which are large, and of a 
pale yellow colour •, the fegments of the petal are 
broad, but their ftiape like thofe of the other forts. 
The feed-veflels are larger, and much longer, than 
thofe of the other forts, but contain fewer feeds, 
which are very large. The young plants which are 
raifed from feeds of this fort, do more certainly flower 
than the old roots, or the offsets taken from them ; 
for the roots fend out many offsets, which will (pread 
to a confiderable diftance where they have room, but 
feidom produce flowers ; fo that it is the bell way to 
raife a fuccefiion of plants from feeds, and to throw 
out the old ones after they have perfected their feeds. 
All the forts are propagated by feeds, which fliould 
■ be fown on a hot-bed in the fpring ; and when the 
plants are fit to remove, they fliould be tranfplanted 
into leparate fmall pots, filled with rich kitchen-gar- 
den earth, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed of 
tanners bark, obferving to (hade them till they have 
taken root ; after which, they fhould have a large 
(hare of free air admitted to them every day in warm 
weather, and be frequently refrelhed with water. As 
thefe plants will make great progrefs in their growth, 
they mull be fhifted into larger pots filled with the 
fame fort of earth, and part of them plunged into 
the hot-bed again •, and , the others may be placed 
abroad in June, with other exotic plants, in a warm 
fituation. Thofe which are placed in the hot-bed, 
will be ftrong enough to flower well in the ftove the 
following winter ; but thofe in the open air, will not 
flower before the following fummer. Thefe may re- 
main abroad till the beginning of October, when 
they muft be removed into the ftove, and treated in 
the fame manner as the old plants ; and in May, if 
a gentle hot-bed is made, and covered a foot thick 
with rich earth, and the plants turned out of the pots, 
planting them with their balls of earth upon the hot- 
bed, covering each with a bell-glafs, which may be 
raifed on one fide every day to admit air to the plants ; 
and as thefe advance, they muft be gradually inured 
to bear the open air. With this management the 
plants will grow much taller, and flower ftronger 
than thofe which are kept in pots, and from thefe 
good feeds may be expected in autumn. Thefe plants 
will continue many years with proper management ; 
but as young plants always flower better than the old 
roots, it is icarce worth while to continue them after 
they have borne good feeds. 
The fecond fort, which is much hardier than either 
of the other, fhould have a different treatment, The 
young plants of this muft be earlier inured to the 
open air, where they may remain till the froft begins j 
then they muft be placed in the green-houfe, and 
fhould have but little wet in winter ; and the begin- 
ning of May, thefe fliould be turned out of the pots, 
and planted in a warm fouth border, in a dry foil, 
where, they will thrive and produce flowers annually ; 
but 
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