Canna indica (Indian shot, "Dandoku")

Japanese name: ダンドク （檀特）
Scientific name: Canna indica

[Overview]
A perennial 1.5–2 m tall.
It has a thick rhizome.
The leaves are simple and alternate, oblong to lanceolate with a pointed tip, 30–40 cm long, with entire margins.
The leaf sheaths wrap and overlap to form a pseudostem.
A raceme emerges at the tip of the pseudostem.
The flowers are three-petaled, but the petals are small and inconspicuous.
Three staminodes develop into conspicuous red to yellow petal-like structures; two stand upright and one hangs down like a lip.
The pistil is spatulate.
The fruit is a corm-like capsule that splits open when ripe.
The seeds are round, black and glossy.
Some plants have a pseudostem, leaf margins and young fruits tinged with reddish purple.

[History]
It is said to have come to Japan in the Edo period and is naturalized in warm regions.

[Uses]
The young leaves and rhizomes are used medicinally, and starch can also be obtained from the rhizome.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by dividing bulbs.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, fertile sites.
It is hardy and easy to grow.
For potted plants, water when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, watering is unnecessary unless it becomes extremely dry.
During the growing season from spring to autumn, apply a slow-release fertilizer once a month.
It is weak against cold and goes dormant at 5°C or below, so when the aboveground part dies back, cut it off and let the plant rest, protecting it from the cold with straw mulch or similar.
When digging up the rhizomes for storage, protect them from drying and freezing.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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