Canna coccinea Mill.

• Authority

  Britton, Nathaniel L. Flora Borinqueña.

• Family

  Cannaceae

• Scientific Name

  Canna coccinea Mill.

• Description

  Species Description - This is the most abundant Canna in Porto Rico, growing in various situations, on banks, hillsides, fields, and borders of woods, from sea-level up to 800 meters elevation, sometimes forming colonies of considerable size, and conspicuous by bright red flowers. Its distribution extends throughout most of the West Indies, except the Bahama Islands, and, widely, in continental tropical America. For description of the genus we refer to our account of Canna glauca. Canna coccinea (scarlet) becomes 2 meters high, or lower; the stem and leaves are green, not glaucous. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate or oblong-ovate, from 25 to 50 centimeters long, the apex long-pointed, the base narrowed; the long clusters of flowers are usually unbranched; the oblong-lanceolate, reddish-green sepals are from 12 to 15 millimeters long; the tube of the corolla is short, the reddish-tinged, lanceolate segments from 3 to nearly 4 centimeters long; the upper staminodes are unequal, 2 of them oblong-spatulate, the other narrower, much smaller; the red-yellow lip is notched. The capsule is from 2 to 4 centimeters long, short-bristly.

• Discussion

  Maraca cimarrona Red Indian Shot Family Canna Family Canna coccinea Miller, Gardeners Dictionary, edition 8, no.3. 1768.