Editing Canna (plant) (section)

== Description ==
[[Image:Canna AugusteFerrier 1679.jpg|thumb|right|''Canna'' (foliage group) 'Auguste Ferrier']]
The plants are large [[tropical]] and [[subtropical]] [[herbaceous]] [[perennial plant|perennial]]s with a [[rhizomatous]] rootstock. The broad, flat, [[Phyllotaxis|alternate]] [[Leaf|leaves]] that are such a feature of these plants, grow out of a stem in a long, narrow roll and then unfurl. The leaves are typically solid green, but some cultivars have glaucose, brownish, maroon, or even variegated leaves.<ref name=Khoshoo/>

The flowers are asymmetric and composed of three [[sepal]]s and three [[petal]]s that are small, inconspicuous, and hidden under extravagant [[stamen]]s. What appear to be petals are the highly modified stamens or [[staminode]]s. The staminodes number (1–) 3 (–4) (with at least one staminodal member called the [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]], always being present. A specialized staminode, the stamen, bears [[pollen]] from a half-[[anther]]. A somewhat narrower "petal" is the [[pistil]], which is connected down to a three-chambered [[ovary (plants)|ovary]].<ref name=Khoshoo/>

The [[flower]]s are typically red, orange, or yellow, or any combination of those colours, and are aggregated in [[inflorescence]]s that are [[Raceme|spikes]] or [[panicles]] (thyrses). The main pollinators of the flowers are [[bee]]s, [[hummingbird]]s, [[sunbird]]s, and [[bat]]s. The [[pollination]] mechanism is conspicuously specialized. [[Pollen]] is shed on the [[style (botany)|style]] while still in the [[bud]], and in the species and early hybrids, some is also found on the stigma because of the high position of the anther, which means that they are self-pollinating. Later cultivars have a lower anther, and rely on pollinators alighting on the labellum and touching first the terminal stigma, and then the pollen.<ref name=Khoshoo/>

The wild species often grow to at least {{convert|2|-|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height, but wide variation in size exists among cultivated plants; numerous cultivars have been selected for smaller stature.<ref name=Khoshoo/>

Cannas grow from swollen [[underground stem]]s, correctly known as rhizomes, which store starch, and this is the main attraction of the plant to agriculture, having the largest starch grains of all plant life.<ref name=Khoshoo/>

''Canna'' is the only member of the [[Liliopsida]] class ([[monocot]] group) in which [[Seed hibernation|hibernation of seed]] is known to occur, due to its hard, impenetrable seed covering.<ref name=Grootjen>Grootjen, C. J. and F. Bouman. 1988. Seed structure in Cannaceae</ref><ref name=Lerman>Lerman, J. C. and E. M. Cigliano. 1971. New carbon-14 evidence for six hundred years old ''Canna compacta'' seed</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Sivori |first=E. |display-authors=etal |date=September 21, 1968 |title=Germination of Achira Seed (''Canna'' sp.) Approx. 550 Years Old |journal=Nature |volume=219 |issue=5160 |pages=1269–1270 |doi=10.1038/2191269a0 |pmid=5677429 |s2cid=400894 }}</ref>