Canna pedunculata Sims

syns. buekii Weinm., reflexa Nees ex D.Dietr.
Wild Canna

HEIGHT Tall, 2-3 metres
FOLIAGE Glaucous green
FORM Spreading
FLOWER Yellow
FLOWERING Average bloomer

Canna pedunculata Sims is a tall species; glaucous green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; panicles of flowers are erect, self-coloured yellow, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is slow.

Native of south-east Brazil at low altitudes. Johnson’s Dictionary of 1856 reports that it first entered England in 1820, meaning ‘long-flower-stalked’. Grows to 2.5m tall, leaves are green, glaucous and relatively narrow (4-13cm/1″-5″ wide). The flowers are erect, yellow, relatively small (3-4cm/1″-1½” long), composed of 9 coloured parts; sepals obtuse; petals reflexed; 4 staminodes, narrow (2-10mm wide).

Professor Paul Maas, Dr. Hiltje Maas and Dr. Nobuyuki Tanaka are in agreement over this species.