Canna tuerckheimii



Canna tuerckheimii is a species of the Canna genus, belonging to the family Cannaceae. Its specific epithet tuerckheimii commemorates Hans von Türckheim, a 19th-century German plant collector.

Description
Herb up to 5 m tall. Canna tuerckheimii is a relatively large species with vast stems carrying large green leaves and high carried orange-red flowers. Stems of up to 3 — 3.5m (11½ft) in height. Green leaves, relatively large - 30–100 cm x 15–40 cm (12—36in x 6—16in), lower side and sheaths lanuginose. Flowers are erect orange-red, 5.5 –9 cm (2¼—3½in) long; floral tube not curved, composed of 9 coloured parts; petals not reflexed; with 4 staminodes.

Distribution
Canna tuerckheimii is native to Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador at 500 - 2,000 m of elevation.

Taxonomy
Paulus Johannes Maria Maas and Nobuyuki Tanaka, both experts on the genus Canna, disagree on the correct taxonomic placement of this species, with Tanaka considering the correct placement for the species to be C. latifolia.

Cultivation
It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. In the north latitudes, it is in flower from August to October, and the early seeds ripen in October.