What canna is edible?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

September 19, 2002

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About 4,500 years ago, people living along the Pacific coast of South America carefully buried their dead. Grave goods from the mundane (food) to the extraordinary (gold masks) honored the deceased. "Cooked tubers appear in the dry coastal tombs...indicating both an ancient origin and the fact that the roots were esteemed highly enough to be carried all the way from the highlands." (Lost Crops of the Incas, National Academy of Sciences, 1989)

Canna, Giant (Not edible!) – For Showy Foliage and Gigantic Flowers—A Truly Impressive Screen Big, beautiful cannas look tropical but are easy to grow, even for northern gardeners. Broad, glossy leaves measure up to a foot long, in green, blue-green or bronze. Stunning flower spikes bloom from June to frost in an neon range of colors. Creates an eye-catching screen even when not in bloom. Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com! [More Flowering Bulbs!]

The cooked tubers were achira (Canna edulis Ker-Gawler), cousin of the familiar garden canna. From archaeological studies, achira was domesticated in the Andes and is thought one of the longest continually cultivated plants. By the time the Inca civilization was founded in 1100 CE, achira had been a food crop for at least 3,500 years.

Although beautiful plants, achira were grown for the high quality starch found in the large rhizomes. Tender rhizomes were cooked and eaten. The starch was extracted from older rhizomes for use as flour.

The starch granules in achira are the largest known averaging 40 by 120 micrometers or three times the size of the potato's starch grains. Extraction of the starch requires only grating the rhizomes and immersing in water. The large granules settle quickly and can be dried or formed into gel sheets. Unlike corn or potato starch, achira starch thickens while remaining transparent and glossy.

Achira is better known in Australia and Southeast Asia where it is cultivated than in the Americas. Unfortunately, prejudice against the natives has relegated achira to "poverty" food, once the same classification as corn (maize) and potatoes.

Ganesh Mani Pradhan and Son Nursery have excellent photographs of Canna edulis including close-ups of the flowers. To view the photographs, click on the link:

http://www.ganeshvilla.com/plants/canna_edulis.htm

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Dutch Canna Collection

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Plant 15-20" apart in full sun or partial shade.

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For Showy Foliage and Gigantic Flowers--A Truly Impressive Screen

Big, beautiful cannas look tropical but are easy to grow, even for Northern gardener

Broad, glossy leaves measure up to a foot long, in green, blue-green or bronze. Stunning lover spikes bloom June through frost in a neon range of colors. Creates an eye-catching screen even when not in bloom.

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