Canna
a genus of plants belonging to the endogenous order Marantaceæ.
They have beautiful red or yellow flow- ers. Canna indica is the Indian shot or Indian bead, a native of Asia, Africa, and America; it is common and in flower most of the year in Indian gardens. The seeds have been used as a substitute for coffee, and they moreover furnish a beautiful but not a durable purple. A kind tiful but not a durable purple. A kind of arrowroot is extracted in the West In- dies from a species believed to be C. Achi- The fleshy corms of some cannas are said to be eaten in Peru, and, according to Von Martius, those of C. aurantiaca glauca and others are diuretic and diaphoretic, acting like orris-root. ras. an