Cannaceae: More Than Meets the Eye – Ornamental, Beads & Food Crop

Whether as Canna Lilies, Indian Shot, Queensland Arrowroot, or just Cannas, most gardeners know species of the Cannaceae family. Popular ornamentals with endless showy hybrids, long history as jewelry beads, and lesser-known potential as important food crops. Love them or hate them—they're hardy, versatile, with an interesting history and big future.

(Editor's Note: Originally published February 28, 2008. Comments welcome, but authors may not promptly respond.)

Botany & Origins

Cannaceae belongs to Zingiberales order (includes plantains/bananas, heliconias, strelitzias, gingers, true arrowroot). ~27 species, all from the Caribbean, where they grow along roadsides among bananas and taro. Perennial herbs, 1–2 meters tall. Most common: ornamental hybrids (C. indica × generalis) with flowers from white through yellow, pink, orange to red—every imaginable hue and parti-color. Foliage ranges pale green to near-black, including variegated varieties. Most named cultivars sterile (no seed) but propagate via branching rhizomes.

C. indica pods & seed

C. indica: The Hybrid Mother

One of the tallest cannas, C. indica flowers only red—rarely chosen as ornamental. Named by Carolus Linnaeus, mistakenly thought from India. Synonyms: C. coccinea, C. lambertii. As mother of most hybrids, crucial for breeders. While cannas propagate by rhizome division, seed production and new hybrids depend on fertile strains like this.

Indian Shot: Beads, Bullets & Music

C. indica seeds are hard, spherical—like antique musket pellets. "Indian Shot" name derives from this. No clear record of actual use as shot, but modern tests show seeds from a 12-gauge shotgun penetrate ¼-inch plywood at close range. These characteristics made seeds popular natural beads for centuries (jewelry-makers, take note). In India, seeds harvested green, bored out, left to harden. Catholics dry flowers for rosaries. Seeds also used in musical instruments like shakers.

C. edulis: Queensland Arrowroot – A Future Food Crop

C. edulis (courtesy of barbadine.com)

C. edulis (syn. C. discolor), Achira or Queensland Arrowroot, is one of the world's only two arrowroot sources. Large-scale cultivation in Queensland, Australia—most Australians know canna via arrowroot biscuits, but this understates its culinary importance and potential as a major future food crop.

Arrowroot: easily digested—ideal for children, convalescents, gluten-intolerant. Highest quality thickener for sauces/gravies; superior gelatin substitute for crystal-clear jellies and silky ice cream. British loved it 100+ years; grown large-scale in Australia and West Indies. Napoleon claimed England's arrowroot love stemmed from colonial support needs.

Key advantage: Reliable, easily propagated, harvestable twice annually. Combined with high-quality starch, singled out by groups seeking solutions to world hunger. This potential to feed millions is the canna family's most notable aspect.

Ornamental Renaissance

C. indica × generalis "Roma"

Latest chapter: one of the most varied, hardy ornamentals. Hybrid cannas possibly the most consistent garden feature in English-speaking world. Uncountable ornamental cultivars bred over 100+ years, many reinvented and renamed repeatedly. Italian hybrids, Australian Zodiacs, America's Tropicanas—there's a canna for everyone. A plant you can love, become too familiar with, then through new discovery of versatility and hardiness, love all over again.

Classic Arrowroot Recipe: Pavlova

Serves 6

• 1 tbsp arrowroot flour
• 6 egg whites
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1⅓ cups caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 200 ml pure cream
• 1 pint strawberries
• 2 passionfruit
• 2 kiwi fruit

Preheat oven 200°C. On baking paper, draw 20–30 cm circle, place face down on tray. Dust with 1 tsp arrowroot flour.

Beat egg whites & cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar (save 1 tbsp), beating until thick. Add remaining arrowroot flour & sugar. Fold vanilla & vinegar into meringue.

Spoon onto paper, shape into circle with depressed center using pencil mark. Reduce oven to 100°C. Bake ~80 minutes until dry & crisp. Turn off oven, open door, cool. Slice strawberries & kiwi while cooling.

Slide meringue onto plate. Spread cream, top with strawberries, kiwi, passionfruit pulp. Dust icing sugar if desired. Enjoy.

References

1. Canna Indica: Indian Shot. Seeds shot from guns?
2. Botanical Beads of the World
3. Aluka: Entry for Canna indica
4. Plants for a Future: C. Edulis

Further Reading

• Detailed info on C. Edulis, including arrowroot flour making
• Flowers of India: Indian Shot
• Birth Flower Rosaries for sale