FIG. 359. CANNA INDICA, showing Habit, Flowers, and Leaves.

CANNA (derivation uncertain; according to some, from cana, the Celtic name for cane, or reed). Indian Shot. ORD. Scitamineæ. A large genus of stove herbaceous perennials, very extensively employed in sub-tropical and other methods of summer gardening. Flowers spathaceous; anther attached to the edge of the petal-like filament. Leaves very ornamental. Few plants are more easily grown, or more quickly propagated. Seeds of many of the finer sorts may be bought cheaply from respectable seedsmen. These should be sown in heat, in February or March. A warm house or cucumber pit is the best place for sowing the seeds, which are very hard. If soaked in tepid water for twenty-four hours, germination will be materially stimulated. A mixture of sand and leaf mould is best for them, and a covering of 1½in. or 2in. of earth is not excessive. They should be sown thinly, in pans. As Cannas are gross, and have somewhat brittle roots in a young state, it is a good plan to sow the seed singly in small pots. This method preserves all the roots intact, and prevents any check in potting off or dividing the plants out of seed pans or boxes. When this is not done, the plants must be potted off singly, as soon as they have formed two leaves, 3in. pots being used for the first shift. The soil can hardly be too rich and porous. Equal parts rotted dung, loam, and sand, with a little peat, form a capital mixture for them. The plants must be kept in a growing temperature of 60deg. or so, during their earlier stages, and shifted as required into larger pots. Under proper management, the roots will fill 6in. pots by the middle or end of May. They ought not to be planted out till the end of May or the first week in June. Should fairly rich soil and a sheltered place be selected for them, they will not only grow, but flower freely during the late summer and autumn months. Cannas are also very effective indoors, either for greenhouse or room decoration. For these purposes they may be grown on in 8in., 10in., or even 12in., pots, with rich soil, and placed either in a stove, intermediate house, warm or cool conservatory, window, or room. Liberal supplies of manure water will be of very great benefit. Propagation is also effected by means of divisions; they form a root-stock very like some of the commoner and more free-growing Irises, each portion of which, with bud and roots attached, may be converted into an independent plant. The best mode of procedure is to divide the root-stock in early spring, when the pieces may be placed in 4in. pots at once; and, if plunged in a bottom heat of 60deg. or so, they will quickly resume root action and grow rapidly. They may also be propagated by division without bottom heat. Those who grow large quantities seldom put their plants in pots at all. Stored in pots or boxes for the winter, they are divided and placed singly in similar positions in the spring, and transferred from such vessels into the open air. The best open site for Cannas is in a sheltered spot, with a good depth of rich soil, and plenty of moisture. In such a position, their noble leaves are not so much injured by rough winds. After flowering, or at the end of the season, they may be lifted and stored away in boxes, or in pots of earth, in dry, frost-proof sheds, or under greenhouse stages during winter. In warm, sheltered situations, with dry bottoms, they winter safely in the open, provided their crowns are covered with 1ft. of litter or cocoa fibre refuse. But where the soil is wet and cold, or the situation bleak and unprotected, they should be lifted and stored away, as already described.

C. Achiras variegata (variegated Achiras).* fl. dark red. August. l. bright green, striped with white and yellow. Better adapted for indoor culture than out.

C. Annæi (M. Année's).* fl. salmon-colour, large, well formed. June. l. large, green, glaucescent, ovate-acute, 2ft. long by 10in. wide. Stems vigorous, stiff, sea-green. h. 6ft. (R. H. 1861, 470.) Of this there are many forms, the best of which are:

C. A. discolor (two-coloured).* fl. rosy-yellow, few, small. Late summer. l. lanceolate, erect, light red, 2½ft. long, 10in. wide. Stems dark red. h. 3ft. to 5ft.

C. A. fulgida (red).* fl. orange-red, large, well-opened. l. 20in. long, 6in. wide, deep purple, erect. Stems small, dark red. h. 3ft. to 5ft.

C. A. rosea (rose).* fl. carmine-rose colour, small, few. Late summer. l. 2ft. long, very narrow, pointed, erect. Stems dark green, with a reddish base, numerous. h. 5ft.

C. Auguste Ferrier (A. Ferrier's).* fl. orange-red, medium-sized. l. very large, oval, erect, pointed, deep green, with narrow stripes and margins of dark purplish-red. Stem green, very thick, downy. h. 10ft.

C. aurantiaca (orange). fl., segments of perianth rose-coloured outside, reddish inside; upper lip orange, lower one yellow, dotted with orange. l. large, broadly lanceolate, pale green; margins slightly undulated. h. 6½ft. Brazil, 1824.

C. Bihorelli (Bihorell's).* fl. deep crimson, produced upon branching spikes in great abundance. l. red when young, changing to deep bronze with age. h. 6ft. to 7ft. One of the best.

C. Daniel Hooibrenk. fl. bright orange, large, freely produced. l. large, glaucous-green, acuminate, with bronzy margin. Stalks strong, green. h. 6ft.

C. Depute Henon.* fl. pure canary-colour, with a yellowish base, large; spikes numerous, rising gracefully above the foliage to a height of 1½ft. l. ovate-acute, erect. h. 4ft.

C. discolor (two-coloured).* fl. red. l. very large, broad, ovate-oblong; lower ones tinged with a blood-red hue; upper ones streaked with purple. Stems stout, reddish. h. 6ft. South America, 1872. (B. R. 1231.)

C. edulis (edible). fl. large, with purple outer segments, inner ones yellowish. l. broadly ovate-lanceolate, green, tinged with maroon. Stems deep purple tinged. h. 6ft. to 7ft. Peru, 1820. (B. R. 775.)

C. expansa-rubra (red-expanded).* fl. large, with rounded bright purple segments. l. very large, sometimes over 4ft. long, and nearly 2ft. broad, ovate, obtuse, spreading horizontally, dark red. Stems numerous, very thick. h. 4ft. to 6ft.

C. flaccida (flaccid). fl. yellow, very large, not very unlike those of the native Iris pseudo-acorus. l. ovate-lanceolate, erect. h. 2½ft. South America, 1788. (L. B. C. 562.)

C. gigantea (gigantic).* fl. large, very ornamental, with orange-red outer, and deep purple red inner segments. Summer. l. about 2ft. long; petioles covered with a velvety down. h. 6ft. South America, 1788. (B. R. 206.)

C. indica (Indian).* Indian Reed. fl. rather large, irregular; spikes erect, with light yellow and carmine-red divisions. Summer. l. large, alternate, ovate-lanceolate. h. 3ft. to 6ft. West Indies, 1570. See Fig. 359. (B. M. 454.)

C. insignis (magnificent). fl. orange-red, few, small. l. ovate, spreading horizontally, green, rayed and margined with purplish-red. Stems violet, downy. h. 3ft. to 5ft.

C. iridiflora (Iris-flowered). fl. rose, with a yellow spot on the lip; spikes slightly drooping, several emanating from the same spathe. Summer. l. broadly ovate-acuminate. h. 6ft. to 8ft. Peru, 1816. (B. R. 609.)

C. i. hybrida (hybrid). fl. blood-red, very large, only properly developed when grown in a greenhouse. l. green, very large. Stem green, downy, somewhat reddish. h. 6ft. to 8ft.

C. limbata (bordered).* fl. yellowish-red, disposed in long loose spikes; spathes glaucous. l. oblong-lanceolate, acute. h. 3ft. Native country uncertain, 1818. (B. R. 771.)

C. l. major (larger-bordered). fl. orange-red, large. l. large, lanceolate, 2½ft. long, 8in. wide, spreading, deep green. Stems downy. h. 5ft. to 6½ft.

C. nigricans (blackish).* l. coppery-red, lanceolate, acuminate, erect, 2½ft. long, 10in. to 12in. broad. Stems purplish-red. h. 4½ft. to 8ft. One of the finest kinds. C. atro-nigricans has leaves of a purplish shade, passing into dark red, of a deeper hue than those of C. nigricans.

C. Premices de Nice. fl. bright yellow, very large. Stems and leaves like those of C. Annæi.

C. Rendatleri (Rendatler's).* fl. salmon-red, numerous, large. l. much pointed, deep green, tinged with dark red. Stems purplish-red. h. 6ft. to 8ft.

FIG. 360. FLOWERING SPIKE OF CANNA SPECIOSA.

C. speciosa (showy).* fl. sessile, in pairs; petals two, erect, bifid; lip spotted, revolute. August. l. lanceolate. h. 3ft. Nepaul, 1820. See Fig. 360. (B. M. 2317.)

C. Van-Houttei (Van Houtte's).* fl. bright scarlet, large, very abundantly produced. l. lanceolate, 2ft. to 2½ft. long, acuminated, green, rayed and margined with dark purplish-red.

C. Warscewiczii (Warscewicz's).* fl. with brilliant scarlet inner, and purplish outer segments. l. ovate-elliptic, narrowed at both ends, deeply tinged with dark purple. h. 3ft. Costa Rica, 1849. (B. H. 2, 48.) There are several varieties of this species, the best two are: Chatei, with very large dark red leaves, and nobilis, with deep green leaves, rayed and margined with dark red.

C. zebrina (zebra-striped).* fl. orange, small. l. very large, ovate, erect, deep green, passing into dark red, rayed with violet-purple. Stems dark violet-red. h. 6ft. to 8ft.

CANNABINACEÆ. This order, of which the genus Cannabis (Hemp) is the type, is now merged into Urticaceæ.

CANNABIS (from the Greek word kannabis, used by Dioscorides, and that from Sanskrit canam). Hemp. ORD. Urticaceæ. A small genus, of but little ornamental value. Flowers racemose, diœcious. Nut two-valved, within the closed calyx. The undermentioned species is a hardy annual, of easy culture in ordinary garden soil. Propagated by seeds, sown in spring.

C. sativa (cultivated). fl. greenish. June. l. on long stalks; leaflets from five to seven, long, lanceolate, acuminated; margins serrated. h. 4ft. to 10ft., or even 20ft. India, &c. This plant is cultivated very extensively for the sake of its valuable fibre. Well-grown plants have rather an ornamental appearance during the summer months. See Fig. 361.