Canna or canna lily, although not a true lily is a genus of 10 species[2] of flowering plants.[3][4][5] The closest living relations to cannas are the other plant families of the order Zingiberales, that is the Zingiberaceae gingers, Musaceae bananas, Marantaceae, Heliconiaceae, Strelitziaceae, etc.[6]
Canna is the only genus in the family Cannaceae. The APG II system of 2003 assigns it to the clade commelinids, in the monocots.
Plants have large foliage and horticulturists have turned it into a large-flowered garden plant. It is also used in agriculture as a rich source of starch for human and animal consumption.[6]
Although a plant of the tropics, most cultivars have been developed in temperate climates and are easy to grow in most countries of the world as long as they receive at least 6ââ¬â8 hours average sunlight during the summer, and are moved to a warm location for the winter. See the Canna cultivar gallery for photographs of Canna cultivars.
The name Canna originates from the Latin word for a `cane` or `reed`.
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