Gamma Irradiation of Bandera Espanola
Canna is the lone genus of the family Cannaceae which is only comprised of 20 species from Central and South America. The name originated from the Greek name for a certain type of reed. Since the type species, C. indica, can survive submerged in 6 inches of water, it behaves quite like the aquatic plant. However, it is not a native of India as the name implies, but of the West Indies. It reached India and the for human consumption in the Andes, the starch is made into glass noodles rest of Asia, and also Africa much later through Europe.
It is quite surprising that plant breeding of this tropical and subtropical genus was initiated and continuously done in temperate countries. The reason is more surprising because Cannas require a minimum of only six hours of sunlight in order to grow in almost any type of soil, and seedlings will produce flowers in less than a year. Once they bloom, artificial pollination may be done again.
