Canna ‘Rubra Superbissima’ is a tall Foliage Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, oblong-obtuse shaped, transparent margin, spreading habit; oval main stems, coloured purple; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, fully self-cleaning, low bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are large tuber-like groups, coloured purple; tillering is prolific.
Stems dark purple-red, very thick, from nearly 6 ft. to 6½ ft. high. Leaves broad, round, purplish-red, with a metallic lustre. Flowers of medium size, light orange-red. Rootstocks brownish, very thick, conical, crowded together. One of the finest metallic-red-leaved Cannas.
Thompson's Gardener's Assistant, Edited by Thomas Moore, 1892
5 to 6 feet in height; leaves very broad, of a rich purplish red colour, with a metallic lustre in the sun. This is a free grower, and one of the best of the red-leaved kinds.
