Native Plants

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Cressler, Alan

Canna flaccida

Canna flaccida Salisb.

Bandanna Of The Everglades, Golden Canna

Cannaceae (Canna Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: CAFL11

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

The large, rounded to lance-shaped leaves of this 4 ft. perennial are 1-2 ft. long. (Upper leaves are smaller.) Three green sepals and three greenish-yellow petals are united at the base, forming a tube. The showy part of the flower consists of modified stamens which resemble iris-like petals. The style is also petal-like.

From the Image Gallery

5 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 4 feet tall.
Leaf: Apple green.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec

Distribution

USA: AL , FL , GA , LA , MS , SC , TX
Native Distribution: Coastal areas from SC to MS
Native Habitat: Wet ditches; freshwater marshes; swamp margins

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Wet
Aquatic: yes
Cold Tolerant: yes
Heat Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Moist to wet soils from heavy clay to sandy loam. Not particular.
Conditions Comments: This easy to grow plant produces showy yellow flowers with very faint speckles and is a great addition to the water garden or edge of the bog and is useful to help stop soil erosion. This plant will also grow in moist, average garden soil. Skipper caterpillars will use this plant as a host plant. The plant is cold-sensitive and will freeze back to the roots during a frost or freeze.

Benefit

Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Interesting Foliage: yes
Nectar Source: yes
Deer Resistant: Minimal

Propagation

Propagation Material: Seeds
Description: seeds, division of clump, offshoots from base clump
Seed Collection: Wait until the seed pods are near the mature dry stage and then collect the pods.
Commercially Avail: yes
Maintenance: Remove spent stalks to keep tidy and encourage new blooms. Cut back after first frost or leave the debris to protect the dormant roots over winter in northerm areas of its range.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	OBL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Crosby Arboretum - Picayune, MS

Web Reference

Webref 57 - Atlas of Florida Plants (2020) Institute for Systematic Botany
Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Research Literature

Reslit 334 - Use of aquatic and terrestrial plants for removing phosphorus from dairy wastewaters (1995) T. A. DeBusk, J. E. Peterson and K. R. Reddy
Reslit 661 - Response of selected nontarget native Florida wetland plant species to metsulfuron methyl (2008) J. T. Hutchinson and K. A. Langeland

This information was provided by the Florida WIldflower Foundation.
Search More Titles in Research Literature

Additional resources

USDA: Find Canna flaccida in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Canna flaccida in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Canna flaccida

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-12-02
Research By: TWC Staff

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