List of Canna species

Canna species have been categorised by two different taxonomists in the course of the last three decades. They are Paul Maas, from the Netherlands and Nobuyuki Tanaka from Japan. Both reduced the number of species from the 50-100 that had been accepted previously, and assigned most to being synonyms. Inevitably, there are some differences in their categorisations, and the individual articles on the species describes those differences.

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List of species

The following list is based on the Taxomic revision of the family Cannaceae in the New World and Asia, by Dr Tanaka. The list differs following the proposal to conserve the name Canna tuerckheimii over C. latifolia, and the inclusion of C. variegatifolia Ciciar, which was identified in 1995, and which Dr Tanaka does not mention in his revision. The latter is recognised in the Kew Gardens checklist, which closely follows Dr Tanakas revision.

List of species synonyms

Canna species synonyms are the inevitable consequence of the difficulty of communication up to the late part of the 19th century. From the late 18th century plant searchers were being despatched to all corners of the world and bringing back to their employers all the plant treasures of the world.

The problem then became one of identifying the specimens. The capitals and places of learning in the major countries of the world all had botanical gardens and private nurseries and collectors, all intent on discovering and naming new species.

Initially the early taxonomists only had the written word with which to communicate and letters might take weeks to complete their journeys. Black and white photography eased the communication difficulty and the invention of the telephone and colour photography, and more recerntly the world wide web have meant that places of learning can now communicate freely and most of the duplication of names has been resolved.

The list below shows the extent of the duplication in naming that has occurred in the past, and follows the Kew Gardens Canna checklist.

In addition, several species have been given cultivar-type names, and those are listed below:

References

• Canna
• Bailey, L.H. - Canna x generalis. Hortus, 118 (1930); cf. Standley & Steyerm. in Fieldiana, Bot., xxiv. III.204 (1952).
• Bailey, L.H. - Canna x orchiodes. Gentes Herb. (Ithaca), 1 (3): 120 (1923).
• Chaté, E. - Le Canna, 1866.
• de l'Ecluse, Charles - Histoire des plantes rare observées en Espagne, 1576.
• Grootjen, C. J. and F. Bouman. 1988. Seed structure in Cannaceae: Taxonomic and ecological implications. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) n. s. 61: 363--371.
• Johnson's Gardner's Dictionary, 1856.
• Khoshoo, T.N. & Guha, I. - Origin and Evolution of Cultivated Cannas. Vikas Publishing House.
• Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste - Botanical Encyclelopédie.
• Kress, W. J. 1990. The phylogeny and classification of the Zingiberales. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 77: 698--721.
• Kress, W. J. and D. E. Stone. 1982. Nature of the sporoderm in monocotyledons, with special reference to the pollen grains of Canna and Heliconia. Grana 21: 129--148.
• Maas, P. J. M. 1985. 195. Cannaceae. In: A. R. A. Görts-van Rijn, ed. 1985+. Flora of the Guianas. Series A: Phanerogams. 1212+ volsfasc. Königstein. VolFasc. 1, pp. xx--xx69--73 .
• Maas, P. J. M. and H. Maas. 1988. 223. Cannaceae. In: G. Harling et al., eds. 1973+. Flora of Ecuador. 5660+ volsnos. Göteborg. VolNo. 32, pp. 1--9.
• Moore, Thomas. 1892. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie & Son Ltd.
• Percy-Lancaster, S., An Amateur in an Indian Garden. 1927.
• Pison - Histoire naturelle du Brésil, 1658.
• Robinson W., The English Flower Garden, John Murray, Albermarle St, London, England. 1883.
• Robinson W., The Subtropical Garden, John Murray, Albermarle St, London, England. 1879.
• Rogers, G. K. 1984. The Zingiberales (Cannaceae, Marantaceae, and Zingiberaceae) in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 65: 5--55.
• Segeren, W & Maas, PJM - The genus Canna in northern South America (1971), Acta Botanica Neerlandica. 20(6): 663-680.
• Tanaka, N. 2001. Taxonomic revision of the family Cannaceae in the New World and Asia. Makinoa ser. 2, 1:34–43.
• Woodson, R. E. Jr. and R. W. Schery. 1945. Cannaceae. In: R. E. Woodson Jr. et al., eds. 1943--1981. Flora of Panama. 41 fasc. St. Louis. [Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 32: 74--80.]

See also

• Canna
• List of Canna cultivars
• List of Canna hybridists